Fallen Namibian football giants Orlando Pirates FC intend to make amends with the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) to be allowed to compete in the Southern Stream First Division (SSFD).
The troubled club missed the first round of matches last weekend because of a sanction imposed by the Fifa Dispute Resolution Chamber, SSFD chairman Murs Markus said in an interview with Desert Radio this week.
“They have not honoured the sanction yet. Part of the condition was that they need to honour that sanction. Alternatively, they are barred from registering players nationally and internationally,” Markus said.
“And because they are not in the position to register any player, they could not feature in the weekend’s fixture.”
The SSFD chairman warned that the transfer window deadline of player’s registration is imminent: “They still have time until this Friday”.
On his part, Pirates owner and life-long fan Mabos Ortman said they intend to have the matter resolved within the prescribed time frame.
“I think by then we will have honoured everything. It is very unfortunate what happened,” Ortman said of the once-mighty club’s dire situation.“
The previous management neglected and mismanaged Orlando Pirates FC. They let them be relegated, and they wanted to erase the history by buying Civics FC and changing the name of Civics FC to Orlando Pirates FC,” he explained.
“That is erasing a history, and we have been fighting and that has not happened. Now that we are finished with the fight, we have to deal with the Fifa ban that the previous management has known [about] since August,” Ortman continued.
“We came to know about it in late November and now they have left the team with a zero balance, absolutely nothing. So, we have come in and tried to resolve matters. Orlando Pirates FC is going to participate in SSFD.”Ortman said getting back in action would mark the beginning of Pirates journey back to the big time.He said the club had sunk to unparalleled lows but that there is a silver lining.
“We are going to fight our way back, that I can promise Orlando Pirates’ fans,” Ortman said in a rallying cry to the club’s followers.“We are inviting everybody; this is a new dawn and very challenging … but we as Pirates, we have always come out at the top.”
NCS SAGA
Regarding the Namibia Correctional Services (NCS) FC matter, Markus said the club remains suspended by the Namibia Football Association (NFA).The club and senior officials – namely, commissioner general Raphael Hamunyela and Absalom Mushaandja – were banned from all football activities under the NFA’s stewardship in February.
This was after the NCS took the NFA to court over the association’s decision to ban the club, who won the SSFD title last season, from competing in the Debmarine Namibia Premiership.The NFA rules do not allow for clubs with the same owner to compete in the same league.
In this case, the NFA deemed that the NCS and Khomas Nampol, who won promotion to the top division in the 2022-23 season, are controlled by the same entity.
“Meaning that in terms of the constitutional provision and the condition of the suspension, they cannot partake in any competition under the auspices of the football association,” Markus stressed.“Until such time that the suspension is lifted, they will not feature in the SSFD.”
While the NSC does not feature on the current SSFD log standings, Orlando Pirates are eighth on the log standing, with fellow fallen giants Black Africa at the bottom of the standing with zero points each.
Following the weekend’s action, Rehoboth-based Friends FC leads the standings on six points after collecting maximum number of points in their first two matches. Eleven Arrows has four points, followed by Blue Birds in third with three points.
