NRU on brink of securing millions in deal from MTC

THE Namibia Rugby Union (NRU is on the brink of signing a multi-million-dollar sponsorship contract that with a local cellular operator, which will see them through until 2010, The Namibian Sport established yesterday.

The deal, which is still under wraps, will involve “a couple of millions” from cellular operator Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC). A source at MTC yesterday confirmed that the signing with the NRU would possibly be done later this week, as the deal is currently in its final stages.”We are just waiting for our lawyers to get back to us.It will be signed soon,” said the source.The source did not want to reveal the exact amount of the sponsorship deal, but said it was “a little less than half the size of the football sponsorship”.The Namibia Football Association (NFA) has signed a N$40-million deal with a consortium of companies, of which MTC is a majority (50 per cent) partner.The other two companies are First National Bank of Namibia (FNB) and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL), who each hold a 25 per cent stake.The contract will see the NRU building up to the 2007 International Rugby Board’s (IRB) Rugby World Cup in September this year, while it is expected to see the union through until 2010.Namibia will be playing in the World Cup for the third time.It will be held in France this year.The union is currently penniless, as it has been waiting for the contract to be sealed in order to organise friendly matches with foreign nations to prepare for the tournament.The union’s chief executive officer, Christo Alexander, yesterday said the deal would enable the union to organise friendly matches, which would be crucial for the team to compete favourably at the tournament.”The reason why we have not yet played several high-profile matches at this stage, was because of amendments that were brought to the contract.These issues are currently being dealt with and we are eagerly awaiting a positive response to it,” he said.Namibia also competed in the 1999 World Cup in England and Wales, while they also had a go at the 2003 event, which was held in Australia.Namibia did not fare well at either event, but this time, with coach Johan Venter, who pulled a monumental victory with his side against Morocco late last year to qualify, the team is more optimistic.In an earlier interview, Venter said the time has come for Namibia to compete and to win matches at the World Cup.Alexander said with the backing of MTC, the team will be in a much better position to prepare, unlike the previous World Cup in Australia, where the team faced huge financial problems with only days to go before the world showpiece.Namibia lost all its matches, with Australia recording a record win of over 80 points to zero against the Namibians.Some of the Namibian officials at the 2003 tournament were accused of enriching themselves, with players receiving paltry amounts despite doing the work on the field of play.Alexander said trials would be held on April 27 and 28 to select 50 players who will be involved in training camps next month.He said the 50 players would be trimmed to 30 in mid-August, to eventually form the final squad that will be submitted to the IRB.But before that, Namibia will be involved in an IRB Six Nations tournament which will be held in Romania from June 2 to 16.The tournament will also feature hosts Romania, Georgia, Argentina, the Emerging Springboks and Italy A.The participation of Namibia at this tournament will be fully paid for by the IRB.On May 26, Namibia will host Zambia in an Africa Cup encounter, before they play away against Uganda on June 23 in the same competition.A source at MTC yesterday confirmed that the signing with the NRU would possibly be done later this week, as the deal is currently in its final stages.”We are just waiting for our lawyers to get back to us.It will be signed soon,” said the source.The source did not want to reveal the exact amount of the sponsorship deal, but said it was “a little less than half the size of the football sponsorship”.The Namibia Football Association (NFA) has signed a N$40-million deal with a consortium of companies, of which MTC is a majority (50 per cent) partner.The other two companies are First National Bank of Namibia (FNB) and Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL), who each hold a 25 per cent stake. The contract will see the NRU building up to the 2007 International Rugby Board’s (IRB) Rugby World Cup in September this year, while it is expected to see the union through until 2010.Namibia will be playing in the World Cup for the third time.It will be held in France this year.The union is currently penniless, as it has been waiting for the contract to be sealed in order to organise friendly matches with foreign nations to prepare for the tournament.The union’s chief executive officer, Christo Alexander, yesterday said the deal would enable the union to organise friendly matches, which would be crucial for the team to compete favourably at the tournament.”The reason why we have not yet played several high-profile matches at this stage, was because of amendments that were brought to the contract.These issues are currently being dealt with and we are eagerly awaiting a positive response to it,” he said.Namibia also competed in the 1999 World Cup in England and Wales, while they also had a go at the 2003 event, which was held in Australia.Namibia did not fare well at either event, but this time, with coach Johan Venter, who pulled a monumental victory with his side against Morocco late last year to qualify, the team is more optimistic.In an earlier interview, Venter said the time has come for Namibia to compete and to win matches at the World Cup.Alexander said with the backing of MTC, the team will be in a much better position to prepare, unlike the previous World Cup in Australia, where the team faced huge financial problems with only days to go before the world showpiece.Namibia lost all its matches, with Australia recording a record win of over 80 points to zero against the Namibians.Some of the Namibian officials at the 2003 tournament were accused of enriching themselves, with players receiving paltry amounts despite doing the work on the field of play.Alexander said trials would be held on April 27 and 28 to select 50 players who will be involved in training camps next month.He said the 50 players would be trimmed to 30 in mid-August, to eventually form the final squad that will be submitted to the IRB.But before that, Namibia will be involved in an IRB Six Nations tournament which will be held in Romania from June 2 to 16.The tournament will also feature hosts Romania, Georgia, Argentina, the Emerging Springboks and Italy A.The participation of Namibia at this tournament will be fully paid for by the IRB.On May 26, Namibia will host Zambia in an Africa Cup encounter, before they play away against Uganda on June 23 in the same competition.