NPL big spenders bleed

NAMIBIA Premier League (NPL) big spenders are in a financial squeeze as they prepare for the domestic football season whose kick-off has been in limbo.

Triple league champions Civics are the hardest hit as they have so far forked out close to N$100 000 on players’ salaries, transport and medical equipment for the past two months. Last season’s league champions, Orlando Pirates, are second in line with a bill of N$85 000 during the past two months, while Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) and Eleven Arrows have splashed out at least N$75 000 each on their players for August and September.Civics team manager Paul Stramis yesterday said that his players are not getting full pay at the moment, because their contracts stipulates that they first need to be competitive in the league to get fully paid.”If the league starts, the players will receive their full salaries and it generally costs the team over N$100 000 per month,” he said.This means that Civics spent at least N$1,2 million per season on its players, with at least N$60 000 on salaries per month.Pirates on its part spent just over N$1 million, but the N$1,2 million by Civics is way below the N$500 000 offered as prize-money for the team that win the league in a season.The MTC Cup, the richest cup competition in the country, carries a prize tag of just over N$700 000, but still does not guarantee the pre-season big spenders to recoup their money, as it can be won by any other team.Teams will vie for at least N$500 000 for this season’s FNB Cup, but the big spenders have not been too lucky in landing that competition either.At this stage, it is also not known how much start-up capital the teams will be getting.Last season, each team received N$20 000 in their kitty, with an additional N$10 000 a month through grants over ten months just to see them through their league obligations.Teams such as Civics and Pirates spend about N$12 000 per weekend on transport and accommodation if they travel away from their home bases.CLUBS COMPLAIN Civics, Orlando Pirates, Eleven Arrows, SKW and Ramblers have in recent weeks complained about the delay in the start of the league, due to ongoing negotiations between the Namibia Football Association (NFA) and the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC).The frustration on the league kick-off was clearly evident from several club officials The Namibia Sport spoke to, with some hoping that a speedy resolution is found on the protracted talks that are centred around the allocation of more funds to football in general from the NFC.NPL media officer Meke Namindo, when asked about the decisions being taken by the football bosses, said she was also eager to hear what they would decide.”At this stage, there is nothing I can tell you.The negotiations are ongoing and as soon as they decide on giving out the information, everybody would know,” she said.The league has been in limbo for almost two months now.Sources late last week indicated that it would start on October 18, but the transfer period, which closed yesterday, was further extended to November 6.Last season’s league champions, Orlando Pirates, are second in line with a bill of N$85 000 during the past two months, while Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) and Eleven Arrows have splashed out at least N$75 000 each on their players for August and September.Civics team manager Paul Stramis yesterday said that his players are not getting full pay at the moment, because their contracts stipulates that they first need to be competitive in the league to get fully paid.”If the league starts, the players will receive their full salaries and it generally costs the team over N$100 000 per month,” he said.This means that Civics spent at least N$1,2 million per season on its players, with at least N$60 000 on salaries per month.Pirates on its part spent just over N$1 million, but the N$1,2 million by Civics is way below the N$500 000 offered as prize-money for the team that win the league in a season.The MTC Cup, the richest cup competition in the country, carries a prize tag of just over N$700 000, but still does not guarantee the pre-season big spenders to recoup their money, as it can be won by any other team.Teams will vie for at least N$500 000 for this season’s FNB Cup, but the big spenders have not been too lucky in landing that competition either.At this stage, it is also not known how much start-up capital the teams will be getting.Last season, each team received N$20 000 in their kitty, with an additional N$10 000 a month through grants over ten months just to see them through their league obligations.Teams such as Civics and Pirates spend about N$12 000 per weekend on transport and accommodation if they travel away from their home bases.CLUBS COMPLAIN Civics, Orlando Pirates, Eleven Arrows, SKW and Ramblers have in recent weeks complained about the delay in the start of the league, due to ongoing negotiations between the Namibia Football Association (NFA) and the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC).The frustration on the league kick-off was clearly evident from several club officials The Namibia Sport spoke to, with some hoping that a speedy resolution is found on the protracted talks that are centred around the allocation of more funds to football in general from the NFC.NPL media officer Meke Namindo, when asked about the decisions being taken by the football bosses, said she was also eager to hear what they would decide.”At this stage, there is nothing I can tell you.The negotiations are ongoing and as soon as they decide on giving out the information, everybody would know,” she said.The league has been in limbo for almost two months now.Sources late last week indicated that it would start on October 18, but the transfer period, which closed yesterday, was further extended to November 6.