THE Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service says it needs close to N$100 million to refurbish Independence Stadium in Windhoek.
Along with the disintegrating Sam Nujoma Stadium in Katutura, the national facility is in disrepair and no longer fit to host international football matches, and requires extensive renovations to bring it in line with the standards the international football governing body, Fifa, has set.
To that end, the sport ministry says it has submitted a request for funding from the Ministry of Finance.
“Preliminary estimates by the Ministry of Works and Transport indicate it will cost N$98 million to upgrade Independence Stadium to Confederation of African Football (CAF) requirements,” the sport ministry’s public relations officer, Aina Shikesho, said yesterday.
The cost of the stadium repairs is more than double the N$44,1 million budget allocated to the sport directorate for the 2021/22 financial year.
Overall, the ministry received N$279 million, which was about N$27 million less than in the previous fiscal year.
It is unclear when renovations are likely to begin and conclude.
In the meantime, the Namibia Football Association (NFA) will continue to fork out at least N$1,4 million per match to continue hosting the country’s home games in neighbouring South Africa.
The NFA, which no longer gets government subsidies, has staged 10 matches in South Africa since Fifa banned Namibia from hosting international matches at the aforementioned stadiums until they are upgraded.
The latest home match, involving the Brave Gladiators against Zambia’s Copper Queens in a 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final round second-leg qualifier, will be staged in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Years of negligence, over-utilisation and mismanagement of funds meant for maintenance have led to the country’s most prominent stadiums, once at the bleeding edge of sport, running into disrepair.
A case in point of misaligned priorities is the ministry paying over N$14 342 447,78 to audiovisual equipment provider Galaxy Productions since 2009 towards the upkeep of an LED screen and public address system at Independence Stadium.
The ministry terminated its contract with the company in May last year, following an exposé by The Namibian a month earlier.
However, the ministry continues to rely on Galaxy Productions’ technicians given that the ministry does not have staff capable of operating the equipment.
Additionally, and depending on the nature of the event, Independence Stadium patrons need to pay Galaxy Productions N$1 500 to N$6 000 per day to make use of the equipment.
The equipment was purchased in a controversial deal sanctioned in 2009 as part of a grand scheme hatched by senior government officials to cash in on the 2010 Fifa World Cup, hosted in neighbouring South Africa.
As part of the failed plan to lure World Cup teams to set up camp in Namibia, the sport ministry commissioned the refurbishment of the dilapidated facility in 2009, which included resurfacing the playing turf and acquiring the broadcast equipment.
Hosting matches in South Africa has taken its toll on the NFA, says its secretary general, Franco Cosmos.
He recently came under fire for failure to settle outstanding stipends for the national teams.
The NFA has no income-generating stream, and survives on grants from Fifa and CAF.
“We have not received any assistance from the government since the Africa Cup of Nations in June 2019. We have been using Fifa funds meant for operational costs to cover the national teams’ commitments,” he says.
“This is not sustainable. We are incurring more debt with every match. We may have to stop playing international matches by June if we don’t get alternative funding.”
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