Players starve as ‘greedy’ bosses jostle for supremacy

WHILE unemployed footballers ponder where their next meal will come from, Namibia Premier League chairman Patrick Kauta and Kavango East First Division equivalent Mpasi Haingura this week forked out more than N$15 000 to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to keep alive their ambitions of becoming Namibia Football Association president.

That is in addition to unspecified legal costs which the NPL, which does not have a revenue stream, has to pay for losing two appeals against its suspension by the Namibia Football Association in the High Court and Supreme Court.

The duo, along with former NFA president Frans Mbidi, petitioned CAS following their disqualification from contesting tomorrow’s NFA presidential election which may yet be deferred indefinitely should their applications be favourably reviewed.

Their actions where heavily criticised by a group of jobless players and officials who have lost out on an income for nearly nine months because of warring football bosses.

More than 100 footballers held a peaceful demonstration yesterday, marching through the streets of Katutura to deliver a petition at NFA Football House.

The aggrieved group said football administrators were self-serving opportunists whose only interest was landing top positions “to enrich themselves”.

“We have been quiet for too long and yet we are the ones who suffer the most. Today, we raise our voices as football players, we are sick and tired of the football politics and never-ending court cases. All we want is for football to start,” said Tigers SC midfielder Manfred Kazondume who co-organised the protest.

The 30-year-old said some of his comrades have been reduced to beggars while others have turned to crime to survive.

“It’s not a joke. People are really suffering,” he said.

“Our livelihoods have come to a complete standstill. We have responsibilities which we want to see through. Football is so much more than just a sport, it is our life. It is a gateway for international exposure by also being selected to play for the national team,” Kazondume said.

“We don’t have any affiliation to anyone or anybody and we are not involved in any football politics or gains. We just want to play football and put food on our families’ tables.”

GREEDY LEADERS

There is no justifiable reason to deny your fellow Namibian a livelihood, especially when so many others depend on the little that the hamstrung players bring home, said Alfeus Handura (28) of African Stars, a club that Kauta chairs.

“All these people standing here, if they had jobs they would not be able to be here right now. We get our money from playing football. Personally, I used my salary to pay for rent and school. I can’t do that now,” Handura said with a pained expression.

The NPL roughly employs 390 players, 91 technical staff, 50 local-based match officials, 114 security and medical officials. Those figures triple when the lower divisions are factored in.

“People sit in their comfortable offices and underestimate people out there that bring joy and entertainment to many others. Sports can change our world. They don’t see that,” Handura stressed.

“We have people who don’t have football interests at heart. We have greedy leaders. They are here for other reasons but not for football. The leaders must do away with their differences. Let football be number one.”

Kazondunge summed up their plight: “To some of you, N$1 500 is nothing, but to other people it is a lot of money and they survive from it. We are starving, we have lost our accommodations, we can’t afford to support our families and we are struggling to meet our daily obligations.

"We sold our clothes and soccer boots to pay for some of our daily needs. We have even lost our loved ones who no longer want to associate with us because of these trying times.”

DEEP POCKETS

Money is clearly not an issue for the CAS applicants, who all have steady successful business ventures beyond football. They are unfazed by the costs involved when bringing arbitration before the CAS, which requires that a party pays the Court Office a minimum sum of thousand Swiss francs (about N$15 260) in order for their application for arbitration or appeal to be registered.

That is not the case with the majority of players in the country who have to make do with inconsistent and meagre remuneration for their sweat.

On average, premiership footballers in Namibia earn between N$1 500 and N$13 000 per month, the vast majority of whom take home under N$4 000. The highest earners in the first division get around N$3 000, while many second division players do not receive substantive salaries altogether.

Also, only a handful clubs pay salaries during the off-season, which traditionally runs from May to early October.

There has been no competitive domestic football since the MTC Premiership ended in May, while the first and second divisions have not seen action since the end of the 2017-18 season in mid-2018.

The inactivity of the lower divisions led the Fifa Normalisation Committee for Namibia to instruct that NPL relegation be disregarded as there were no teams to move up the ranks.

Having failed in that bid, Kauta changed tact and claims to have been unfairly disqualified from contesting for the NFA presidency by the Normalisation Committee.

Kauta and Haingura were barred from the elections for their roles in the removal of Mbidi as sitting NFA president. Kauta was also disqualified because he is an active member of the suspended NPL.

Mbidi is also seeking to stop Saturday’s elections on the basis that he still qualifies for another term.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.