Players’ union on the cards

FORMER Brave Warriors footballers Lolo Goraseb, Congo Hindjou and Danzyl Bruwer aim to establish a Namibia Football Players’ Association (NFPA) to defend the interests of Namibian players.

The constitution of the NFPA is currently being reviewed by the Labour Commission and soon as that process is done, the association will be established, the players confirmed. Goraseb and Hindjou recently attended a national congress of the South African Football Players Union (SAFPU) in Johannesburg, where they learnt a lot about the activities of the union.Goraseb said once the constitution of the NFPA has been reviewed and accepted by the Labour Commission, a leadership will be elected to run its affairs.He said the main aim will be to educate players on their rights in the game, and will also look at the role of the association for the 2010 World Cup and the benefits for players at that time.He said the players need to know what their rights are on signing contracts and related aspects, while they also aim to set up a provident fund and make provision for medical aid for players.Goraseb and Hindjou say they want to go into partnership with the Namibia Premier League (NPL) to solicit their support in making the process of education easier through the clubs currently involved in the league.Goraseb and Hindjou argue that by forming a partnership with the NPL, they want the union to be included in sponsorships to cater for the insurance and medical aid coverage of the players.They said they also want to enhance the initiative of the NPL for professionalism in the domestic game.Currently Namibia has a semi-professional approach on club level, but more needs to be done to bring the game into a fully operational professional set-up on all levels.Hindjou said the players also need to embrace and support the ideals of the union as it seeks to address the many challenges that are faced by players who are making a living from playing football.So far, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana have started establishing players’ unions, after South Africa was mandated by FIFPro Africa to organise unions in the region.SAFPU is an affiliate of FIFPro Africa and according to Goraseb, Namibia has also handed in its application to become a member.FIFPro is the worldwide representative organisation for all professional players.At the moment 42 national players’ associations are members of FIFPro.Goraseb and Hindjou recently attended a national congress of the South African Football Players Union (SAFPU) in Johannesburg, where they learnt a lot about the activities of the union.Goraseb said once the constitution of the NFPA has been reviewed and accepted by the Labour Commission, a leadership will be elected to run its affairs.He said the main aim will be to educate players on their rights in the game, and will also look at the role of the association for the 2010 World Cup and the benefits for players at that time.He said the players need to know what their rights are on signing contracts and related aspects, while they also aim to set up a provident fund and make provision for medical aid for players.Goraseb and Hindjou say they want to go into partnership with the Namibia Premier League (NPL) to solicit their support in making the process of education easier through the clubs currently involved in the league.Goraseb and Hindjou argue that by forming a partnership with the NPL, they want the union to be included in sponsorships to cater for the insurance and medical aid coverage of the players.They said they also want to enhance the initiative of the NPL for professionalism in the domestic game.Currently Namibia has a semi-professional approach on club level, but more needs to be done to bring the game into a fully operational professional set-up on all levels.Hindjou said the players also need to embrace and support the ideals of the union as it seeks to address the many challenges that are faced by players who are making a living from playing football.So far, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana have started establishing players’ unions, after South Africa was mandated by FIFPro Africa to organise unions in the region.SAFPU is an affiliate of FIFPro Africa and according to Goraseb, Namibia has also handed in its application to become a member.FIFPro is the worldwide representative organisation for all professional players.At the moment 42 national players’ associations are members of FIFPro.