NFA gives low-down on Khomasdal Stadium

THE Khomasdal Stadium is a much better facility than many others that host top-level football matches in Namibia, says NFA Secretary General Barry Rukoro.
With no stadiums for especially the Katutura-based teams to call their own, football officials have conveniently settled for the Khomasdal Stadium as the ‘home venue’ for several teams.

Nonetheless the stadium has been the subject of much scrutiny in recent times and has been dubbed a safety hazard by supporters and officials alike. However, the custodian of domestic football, the NFA, has leapt to the facility’s defence by saying that the venue is fully fit to stage a top-tier football match.’The football association has not written off the stadium. We have no problems with the Khomasdal Stadium,’ Rukoro told The Namibian Sport.Concerns about spectator safety arose when the NFA scheduled the Leo Cup quarterfinal match between African Stars and SKW at the venue. Both teams submitted written appeals to the NFA citing limited capacity for the anticipated number of fans at the match and concerns over safety.’Yes it has a small capacity but that does not mean it cannot host matches,’ said Rukoro.’The NPL conducted inspections of the various stadiums around the country before the start of the current league campaign and to my knowledge, only the stadiums in Rundu and Oshakati were declared unplayable.’NPL CEO Mathew Haikali echoed Rukoro’s sentiments by stating that the decision not to stage league matches at the stadium was due to renovations at the facility towards the end of last year.In the meantime, with the Independence Stadium also under renovation, the MTC-branded Sam Nujoma Stadium has been the preferred venue for the league as there is no question that it is the better facility, said Haikali. ‘As far as I’m aware, the Khomasdal Stadium was unavailable because it was under renovations around October and November last year.’Before we used to play double headers in the league and so the stadium was used to host one match while another was played elsewhere. ‘However, the decision was taken that all teams should play one match at a time and with MTC’s sponsorship of the league and the Sam Nujoma Stadium, most league matches in Windhoek are now played at the Sam Nujoma Stadium.’Rukoro also said that the Khomasdal Stadium would undergo further revamps in future. He said the entrances and lighting would be improved and the possibility of increasing the seats is also on the agenda. ‘Thus far we have improved the dressing rooms. Apart from a few potholes the surface has also improved,’ added Rukoro.

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