Sports Minister sounds warning on soccer crisis

MINISTER of Sport John Mutorwa yesterday warned anyone who might want to derail football activities in Namibia to think again.

Mutorwa addressed a press conference in Windhoek in the wake of attempts by a so-called interim committee which has threatened to dethrone the current Namibia Football Association executive committee. The Minister suggested that the situation needed to be resolved calmly to avoid expulsion from the world body Fifa.He said any misguided attempts to subvert the power and authority of the NFA would be condemned by Government.”The Ministry warns any persons or groups of persons, who in pursuit of blind personal ambition, personal, selfish, tribal or any other irrelevant issues, may further bedevil the country’s national interests of actively participating in international football competitions, to immediately stop such activities,” he said.The interim committee, headed by Hendrik Dawids, claims that it is the legitimate football authority after calling an extraordinary congress on June 3, which put it in power.The extraordinary congress was supposed to be attended by the current executive members, but they snubbed it, saying that a date still had to be decided upon for an ordinary congress to elect a new president.John Muinjo is the acting president of the NFA after Judge President Petrus Damaseb relinquished the position earlier this year.Dawids was chosen as chairman by delegates from 12 regions who attended the extraordinary congress, which the interim committee says was legitimate in terms of the NFA constitution.This has been disputed by the current executive.As a result, a Fifa development officer, Ashford Mamelodi, came to Namibia to investigate.Mamelodi presented his findings to Fifa, which advised that elections be called in all NFA structures before October 31.Fifa emphasised that the crisis in Namibian football was a severe one, which could not be solved with a quick-fix solution but should also be used as an opportunity to revamp the whole NFA structure.Mamelodi is expected back in Namibia early next week to take up the issue again with all involved.After the Fifa report, the interim committee called in lawyers to challenge the legitimacy of the current executive committee.They initially said they wanted to take over the executive positions and had nothing to do with the secretariat, which is responsible for running the day-to-day activities of the association.At the weekend, some members of the interim committee descended on Soccer House in Katutura and demanded the keys of the building from NFA Secretary General Alpheus Gaweseb.They also demanded to be given the NFA cheque book.Gaweseb refused.Prior to that, Gaweseb and Muinjo were served with lawyers’ notices stating that they were not in charge of football anymore.Yesterday, Mutorwa said his Ministry strongly supported all the recommendations made by Fifa in its July 19 report.He said the Ministry wanted the two parties to work together so that the Fifa recommendations “are scrupulously and strictly implemented by the set deadline of October 31″.Mutorwa was concerned about the consequences of the squabbles between the two parties, however, saying that it would be a sad day for Namibian football if Fifa expelled the country from international participation.Fifa does not condone Government involvement in the domestic affairs of its affiliates, but is keen on taking action if football associations cannot resolve their problems internally.The Minister suggested that the situation needed to be resolved calmly to avoid expulsion from the world body Fifa.He said any misguided attempts to subvert the power and authority of the NFA would be condemned by Government.”The Ministry warns any persons or groups of persons, who in pursuit of blind personal ambition, personal, selfish, tribal or any other irrelevant issues, may further bedevil the country’s national interests of actively participating in international football competitions, to immediately stop such activities,” he said.The interim committee, headed by Hendrik Dawids, claims that it is the legitimate football authority after calling an extraordinary congress on June 3, which put it in power. The extraordinary congress was supposed to be attended by the current executive members, but they snubbed it, saying that a date still had to be decided upon for an ordinary congress to elect a new president.John Muinjo is the acting president of the NFA after Judge President Petrus Damaseb relinquished the position earlier this year.Dawids was chosen as chairman by delegates from 12 regions who attended the extraordinary congress, which the interim committee says was legitimate in terms of the NFA constitution.This has been disputed by the current executive.As a result, a Fifa development officer, Ashford Mamelodi, came to Namibia to investigate.Mamelodi presented his findings to Fifa, which advised that elections be called in all NFA structures before October 31.Fifa emphasised that the crisis in Namibian football was a severe one, which could not be solved with a quick-fix solution but should also be used as an opportunity to revamp the whole NFA structure.Mamelodi is expected back in Namibia early next week to take up the issue again with all involved.After the Fifa report, the interim committee called in lawyers to challenge the legitimacy of the current executive committee.They initially said they wanted to take over the executive positions and had nothing to do with the secretariat, which is responsible for running the day-to-day activities of the association.At the weekend, some members of the interim committee descended on Soccer House in Katutura and demanded the keys of the building from NFA Secretary General Alpheus Gaweseb.They also demanded to be given the NFA cheque book.Gaweseb refused.Prior to that, Gaweseb and Muinjo were served with lawyers’ notices stating that they were not in charge of football anymore.Yesterday, Mutorwa said his Ministry strongly supported all the recommendations made by Fifa in its July 19 report.He said the Ministry wanted the two parties to work together so that the Fifa recommendations “are scrupulously and strictly implemented by the set deadline of October 31”.Mutorwa was concerned about the consequences of the squabbles between the two parties, however, saying that it would be a sad day for Namibian football if Fifa expelled the country from international participation.Fifa does not condone Government involvement in the domestic affairs of its affiliates, but is keen on taking action if football associations cannot resolve their problems internally.