SSFD resumes as BA case nears end

The Southern Stream First Division has resumed while the protracted Black Africa case seems to be nearing an end. 

The start of the SSFD at the end of November last year was disrupted due to infighting between two factions of the famous club led by Tommy Adams and Kandas Paulino. Two teams representing the two factions turned up at their matches and with no agreement in sight their opening three matches were all abandoned. 

On the 12th of December BA was suspended from the league by the SSFD executive committee, and by mid-December before the festive break, the leading teams had already played six matches while BA was yet to open its account and 

The resumption of the league this year was further delayed when the SSFD postponed Round 8 and 9 matches set for the weekend of 10 and 11 February due to the ongoing dispute. 

“We have been diligently working to resolve the matter but due to unforseen circumstances, it has become apparent that we must prioritize addressing the above-mentioned issues at hand before proceedong with any sporting events. We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause to your team and its supporters,” Murs Markus the chairman of the SSFD said on 6 February. 

The SSFD finally resumed on March 2, while the SSFD disclipinary case against BA also got underway last week and according to Markus the matter will be resolved by the end of this week. 

“The SSFD disciplinary committee will determine the outcome of BA’s three matches that were abandoned at the beginning of the season – they will either decide that BA must forfeit the points or that the matches will have to be replayed,” he said, adding that BA’s backlog was not that big an obstacle. 

“The other four matches that BA missed are all home matches, so it will not be a problem to reschedule them,” he said. 

The ongoing battle between BA’s two factions has also resulted in a separate civil case, which according to Markus is also due to be resolved this week. 

“I don’t want to dwell on that, but all I can say is that it is a governance issue, it’s about determining who the legitimate leadership of BA is,” he said. 

Markus said the faction led by Adams is still recognised by them. 

“We are working with the group led by Tommy Adams because they were in charge when they were relegated to the SSFD last season, so we continued with them,” he said. 

“But whatever the outcome of the civil case is, BA will have to respect that. The winners of the civil case will have to write a letter to the SSFD informing them that the issue has been resolved, and that they are the legitimate leaders, while the SSFD will naturally also respect the court’s decision,” he added. 

Black Africa’s suspension was, meanwhile, recently lifted and they returned to action last weekend, but their woes continued on the field of play. 

On Saturday they lost 4-0 to Try Again at Keetmanshoop, while they lost 2-1 to Oranjemund on Sunday, to remain rooted to the bottom ofthe log on zero points. 

Namibia Correctional Service and Blue Boys have emerged as the main title contenders, with both teams on 19 points after eight matches, although NCS are on top of the log due to a better goal aggregate.They have opened up a four-point lead over the chasing pack, with Eleven Arrows lying third on 15 points, followed by Mariental on 14 and Dates Eleven on 13 points. 

Last weekend, Blue Boys picked up maximum points after beating DTS 1-0 and Davos FC 2-0 at Swakopmund, while NCS beat Date Eleven 2-0 and drew 1-1 against Mariental Sport Club.

In other matches, Oranjemund FC beat Rambers 5-3, Eleven Arrows and Davos drew 1-1, Date Eleven beat Latinos FC lost 6-2 to Date Eleven and 4-2 to Mariental, and Ramblers beat Try Again 1-0.