THE winning team of the MTC Namibia Premier League title will walk away with N$500 000 at the end of the 2005/2006 football season.
This is the biggest prize money to date for a single team after the realisation of a multi-million sponsorship deal by a consortium of companies to the Namibia Football Association (NFA) in September. The winning team will be given a further N$250 000 to enable them to compete in continental competitions such as the African Champions League.The runners-up in the premiership stand in line for N$300 000, while the third-placed team will pocket close to N$100 000.The NFA this year signed a five-year, N$40-million deal with a consortium of companies consisting of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), First National Bank (FNB) and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL).The three companies are known as the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC) and will invest N$8 million a year in football.Figures obtained by The Namibian Sport indicate that the Namibia Premier League (NPL) will be the biggest beneficiary, with a total of N$2 million allocated to all its activities.The NPL will use most of the money for start-up capital for teams and prize money for the league winners.The most lucrative Cup competition will be the new MTC NFA Cup, which will have prizes totalling N$800 000.It replaces the Tafel Lager NFA Cup, which was the biggest local competition until earlier this year.The sponsors have also introduced the Hansa Pilsener Cup, which will be played by first- and second-division teams.The total sponsorship for this competition, which is the first of its kind for the lower-division teams, is N$500 000.In fact, both the first and second division will see N$800 000 dedicated to their leagues for the 2005/2006 season, a notable increase compared to the previous years.The FNB Cup, which is due this weekend, is the third competition and has been sponsored to the tune of N$500 000 by the financial institution.The national team will also get a sizeable contribution of N$600 000 from the NFC.A source said the NFC did not wanted to commit itself too much to the national team, but wanted to concentrate on the league with the aim of turning it into a professional setup.The national teams also get financial support from Government, the Federation of International Football Associations (Fifa) and the Confederation of African Football (Caf).For football development at youth level, the NFC has decided to pour in N$500 000, but it is not clear how it will be utilised to cover all the regions.At the moment, Namibia has no formal youth development football structure in place.Several regional tournaments for the under-13s and under-17s have taken place several times, but there is a lack of continuity.The referees will this season also benefit as N$300 000 has been set aside for their “development”.Namibian referees have often been criticised for being inconsistent when handling matches.Most of the money will be used to groom more referees to handle matches at the top level.Women’s football walked away with a chunk of N$200 000 for the current season, but also stands to benefit from Government and Fifa to fulfil their national obligations.N$200 000 will be spent on an aggressive football marketing and advertising campaign.This will promote league matches to attract more spectators, after the poor performances of especially the national teams had a negative impact on attendance figures.The NFC will also appoint a co-ordinator who will administer the sponsorship on behalf of the consortium.The position will be advertised soon and this person will serve as a link between the NFA and the NFC.The winning team will be given a further N$250 000 to enable them to compete in continental competitions such as the African Champions League. The runners-up in the premiership stand in line for N$300 000, while the third-placed team will pocket close to N$100 000.The NFA this year signed a five-year, N$40-million deal with a consortium of companies consisting of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), First National Bank (FNB) and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL).The three companies are known as the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC) and will invest N$8 million a year in football.Figures obtained by The Namibian Sport indicate that the Namibia Premier League (NPL) will be the biggest beneficiary, with a total of N$2 million allocated to all its activities.The NPL will use most of the money for start-up capital for teams and prize money for the league winners.The most lucrative Cup competition will be the new MTC NFA Cup, which will have prizes totalling N$800 000.It replaces the Tafel Lager NFA Cup, which was the biggest local competition until earlier this year.The sponsors have also introduced the Hansa Pilsener Cup, which will be played by first- and second-division teams.The total sponsorship for this competition, which is the first of its kind for the lower-division teams, is N$500 000.In fact, both the first and second division will see N$800 000 dedicated to their leagues for the 2005/2006 season, a notable increase compared to the previous years.The FNB Cup, which is due this weekend, is the third competition and has been sponsored to the tune of N$500 000 by the financial institution.The national team will also get a sizeable contribution of N$600 000 from the NFC.A source said the NFC did not wanted to commit itself too much to the national team, but wanted to concentrate on the league with the aim of turning it into a professional setup.The national teams also get financial support from Government, the Federation of International Football Associations (Fifa) and the Confederation of African Football (Caf).For football development at youth level, the NFC has decided to pour in N$500 000, but it is not clear how it will be utilised to cover all the regions.At the moment, Namibia has no formal youth development football structure in place.Several regional tournaments for the under-13s and under-17s have taken place several times, but there is a lack of continuity.The referees will this season also benefit as N$300 000 has been set aside for their “development”.Namibian referees have often been criticised for being inconsistent when handling matches.Most of the money will be used to groom more referees to handle matches at the top level.Women’s football walked away with a chunk of N$200 000 for the current season, but also stands to benefit from Government and Fifa to fulfil their national obligations.N$200 000 will be spent on an aggressive football marketing and advertising campaign.This will promote league matches to attract more spectators, after the poor performances of especially the national teams had a negative impact on attendance figures.The NFC will also appoint a co-ordinator who will administer the sponsorship on behalf of the consortium.The position will be advertised soon and this person will serve as a link between the NFA and the NFC.
