No league kick-off date yet

THE kick-off date for Namibia’s football season is still undecided, a top football official confirmed to The Namibian Sport yesterday.

Speculation has been rife that the league, which was due to start this month, will be delayed until well into October because of the upcoming elections in the regions. Namibia Football Association (NFA) co-ordinator Titus Kunanwene said yesterday that the association would hold a planning session with the sponsors and other stakeholders to decide on when the league would start.Sources told The Namibian Sport yesterday that the authorities are planning to get the ball rolling by at least the end of September or early October.It is the third consecutive season that the Namibian leagues have not started on time.Some leagues across the world already started a week ago, while some are expected to kick off this coming weekend.The Namibia Football Consortium (NFC), as the sponsors and the main role-players in the game, will meet with NFA officials to set a date for the start of the league, while finances for the new season will also be decided upon.Kunamwene said the planning session was scheduled for later this week, but did not give a date.The primary reason for the late league kick-off is a row that erupted between the current executive committee and an interim committee on who should run football in the country.The interim committee claimed that the executive committee disregarded the NFA constitution by not calling an elective congress within the timeframe stipulated by the constitution.After dragging on for two months, the situation was defused by Fifa, which set out a roadmap for Namibian football, ordering elections to be held in each football region, while setting the main congress for the end of October.Fifa also suggested that amendments be made to the NFA constitution to eradicate certain loopholes.Also yesterday, NFC chairperson Amos Shiyuka said the sponsors will at their meeting look into the sponsorship agreement before deciding on further financial obligations with the association, when asked about the start-up capital for the clubs in the premiership.Clubs receive funds from the sponsors through the NFA to cover their travel and accommodation costs during the season.”We will go back to the contract and we will determine our financial contribution to football within the specified rules set out in there,” Shiyuka said.Mobile Telecommunications Limited (NBL), First National Bank of Namibia (FNB) and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) form the consortium and have committed themselves to sponsoring Namibian football for the next five years.They signed a N$40 million deal with the NFA last year in which they promised to inject an annual sum of N$8 million into the game.Namibia Football Association (NFA) co-ordinator Titus Kunanwene said yesterday that the association would hold a planning session with the sponsors and other stakeholders to decide on when the league would start.Sources told The Namibian Sport yesterday that the authorities are planning to get the ball rolling by at least the end of September or early October.It is the third consecutive season that the Namibian leagues have not started on time.Some leagues across the world already started a week ago, while some are expected to kick off this coming weekend.The Namibia Football Consortium (NFC), as the sponsors and the main role-players in the game, will meet with NFA officials to set a date for the start of the league, while finances for the new season will also be decided upon.Kunamwene said the planning session was scheduled for later this week, but did not give a date.The primary reason for the late league kick-off is a row that erupted between the current executive committee and an interim committee on who should run football in the country.The interim committee claimed that the executive committee disregarded the NFA constitution by not calling an elective congress within the timeframe stipulated by the constitution.After dragging on for two months, the situation was defused by Fifa, which set out a roadmap for Namibian football, ordering elections to be held in each football region, while setting the main congress for the end of October.Fifa also suggested that amendments be made to the NFA constitution to eradicate certain loopholes.Also yesterday, NFC chairperson Amos Shiyuka said the sponsors will at their meeting look into the sponsorship agreement before deciding on further financial obligations with the association, when asked about the start-up capital for the clubs in the premiership.Clubs receive funds from the sponsors through the NFA to cover their travel and accommodation costs during the season.”We will go back to the contract and we will determine our financial contribution to football within the specified rules set out in there,” Shiyuka said.Mobile Telecommunications Limited (NBL), First National Bank of Namibia (FNB) and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) form the consortium and have committed themselves to sponsoring Namibian football for the next five years.They signed a N$40 million deal with the NFA last year in which they promised to inject an annual sum of N$8 million into the game.