The Namibia Ports Authority (Namport) has committed N$90 million to Namibian football over three seasons, with president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah demanding strict accountability in the management of the sponsorship.
The sponsorship, worth N$30 million per year, will be channeled through the Namibia Football Association (NFA), with the first installment covering the 2026/27 season.
The season was initially scheduled to start on 18 September but was later postponed to the weekend of 11 October.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, speaking at State House yesterday during the handover of the sponsorship, described the commitment as the largest annual sponsorship in the history of Namibian football.
She said the funding must benefit all 14 regions and support national and regional leagues, women’s football and match officials, while also strengthening coaching, refereeing and youth development.
“This partnership gives football an opportunity to demonstrate that it can manage substantial support responsibly and build the confidence needed for long-term sustainability,” she said.
The president warned that the public funds must be managed transparently, with regular reporting and independent scrutiny.
“Every dollar must be accounted for,” she said, adding that those responsible for administering the funds must be able to explain how they were used, who benefited and what was achieved.
She instructed the NFA to ensure that players and officials are paid on time and that the investment creates a clear pathway for young players to develop.
Prime minister Elijah Ngurare says the sponsorship followed efforts by the government to address a significant funding shortfall facing football.
He says government funding to the NFA had dropped from N$40 million last year to N$7 million this year, despite the previous allocation benefiting more than 21 000 young people within the sport ecosystem.
Ngurare says the government subsequently approached role-players to mobilise additional resources, with Namport identified as one of the potential partners because of its previous investment in football.
Namport had previously committed N$10.5 million over three years to second- and third-division football across all 14 regions.
Namport board chairperson Jerome Mouton says experience had provided valuable lessons for the new partnership.
“That experience has taught us what works and where accountability must be strengthened, and we bring those lessons to this new and much larger undertaking,” he says.
Mouton says Namport would enter into a three-year agreement with the NFA and expected the funds to reach the intended beneficiaries, including players, clubs, referees and coaches.
“We are also going to be a very demanding partner,” he says, calling on the NFA to meet all reporting obligations fully and on time.
Works and transport minister Veikko Nekundi has confirmed that Namport and the NFA would enter into a technical agreement governing the administration of the funds and the conditions attached to the sponsorship.
He says the agreement would be guided by principles of good governance and accountability.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the sponsorship must extend beyond football itself and contribute to the development of a sport industry capable of creating employment and supporting livelihoods.
She said well-organised competitions could also generate economic activity in communities while providing young people with opportunities to develop discipline, teamwork, leadership and resilience.
Ngurare says the three-year commitment would provide greater certainty for football and allow the game to reach young people at village, constituency, regional and informal-settlement level.
“If we can secure, as we now have, three years’ certainty of soccer being played in the manner that it should, we believe that young people out there would now not have to worry that their government somehow has not seen them, but actually has seen them, has felt them, and is committed to making sure that sport does precisely that which is expected of it,” he says.
