No cash for Warriors coach yet

THE position of the Brave Warriors coach is unlikely to be filled on Workers’ Day, as money is still being sought to pay his salary.

Interviews with at least 40 applicants who have applied for the position have been stalled since the end of February after the Namibia Football Association (NFA) realised that it had not budgeted for the salary of the new coach. Acting NFA president John Muinjo told The Namibian Sport yesterday that the association was hard at work to secure funding.”We have involved all stakeholders in trying to secure funding and we are heavily relying on our main custodian, which is the Government,” he said.The NFA earlier held discussions with Minister of Sport John Mutorwa to ask for money.The Namibia Football Consortium (NFC) which sponsors all football activities in the country, did not make provision for the payment of the coach in its latest sponsorship agreement.The NFC, which consists of three major companies, has injected N$40 million into football for the next five years, with N$8 million to be released each year.Muinjo said it was premature to declare that funding would be secured at a certain time, as the people they had approached for money had not yet indicated whether they would give it or not.If a foreign coach is appointed, he is expected to earn between N$50 000 to N$70 000 a month.There were no local coaches who applied for the job, apart from Namibian-based foreign coaches Ali Akan and Shepherd Murape.Earlier, the association also approached the NFC, but there was no indication that more money would be made available.But a source told The Namibian Sport that the consortium has earmarked a huge sum of money to be spent on the Brave Warriors, and there is a possibility that part of the salary of the coach will be sourced from it.The source said in a worst-case scenario the authorities would be forced to keep the three current caretaker coaches, Brian Isaacs, Ronnie Kanalelo and Dawid Snewe.The three men have been asked to take charge of the President’s XI in the interim.Kanalelo is the coach of Black Africa, while Isaacs heads rivals Orlando Pirates.Snewe has served in various national team setups as well as on club level.The three coaches have no formal contract with the NFA and have taken up the duties on a voluntary basis.Acting NFA president John Muinjo told The Namibian Sport yesterday that the association was hard at work to secure funding.”We have involved all stakeholders in trying to secure funding and we are heavily relying on our main custodian, which is the Government,” he said.The NFA earlier held discussions with Minister of Sport John Mutorwa to ask for money.The Namibia Football Consortium (NFC) which sponsors all football activities in the country, did not make provision for the payment of the coach in its latest sponsorship agreement.The NFC, which consists of three major companies, has injected N$40 million into football for the next five years, with N$8 million to be released each year.Muinjo said it was premature to declare that funding would be secured at a certain time, as the people they had approached for money had not yet indicated whether they would give it or not.If a foreign coach is appointed, he is expected to earn between N$50 000 to N$70 000 a month.There were no local coaches who applied for the job, apart from Namibian-based foreign coaches Ali Akan and Shepherd Murape.Earlier, the association also approached the NFC, but there was no indication that more money would be made available.But a source told The Namibian Sport that the consortium has earmarked a huge sum of money to be spent on the Brave Warriors, and there is a possibility that part of the salary of the coach will be sourced from it.The source said in a worst-case scenario the authorities would be forced to keep the three current caretaker coaches, Brian Isaacs, Ronnie Kanalelo and Dawid Snewe.The three men have been asked to take charge of the President’s XI in the interim.Kanalelo is the coach of Black Africa, while Isaacs heads rivals Orlando Pirates.Snewe has served in various national team setups as well as on club level.The three coaches have no formal contract with the NFA and have taken up the duties on a voluntary basis.