Tigers agree to go commercial

NAMIBIA’S oldest football club, Tigers, aims to position itself to get fully commercialised, after the club members unanimously agreed to the idea at its annual general meeting held at the weekend.

Ahead of the weekend, the current interim committee intended to seek a mandate from the electorate to get the Namibia Premier League (NPL) club commercialised and put in place professional structures. The club is currently being run on a voluntary basis by a handful of individuals who take orders from its elders’ council on pertinent issues.Neither the technical team nor the players are on the payroll of the club, which at this stage does also not have a standing sponsorship agreement with any company.Yesterday, Escher Luanda, who has been the voluntary chief of operations at the club, confirmed that it was unanimously agreed that the interim committee be kept and that they should find potential investors to take over its operations.The elective annual general meeting was supposed to elect new members to serve for the club, but according to Luanda the current interim committee was given the go-ahead to stay in charge for the next four years.”The committee will be in charge for the next four years, but the first priority is to open up the club for investors to bid for ownership,” he said.He said the potential investors can be from any sector, provided they comply to the conditions that will be put in place by the management within the next few days.Earlier last week, sources indicated that if the club decides to go commercial, a well-known businessman in the transport industry is willing to invest at least N$1 million for the first season.Luanda said it was still premature to confirm any deals, but he will issue a statement later in the week to reveal the club’s plans.Tigers have not won a league title in more than 15 years, but have consistently kept their place in the elite league for more than a decade, while they have won numerous cup competitions during their spell as one of the most feared teams in the league.The interim committee that will stay in charge includes Onesmus Akwenye as the chairman, Peter Wilson, Isack Hamata, Lukas Nanyemba, Jakes Mbuti, Moses Leonard, Fly Ambunda and Elly Shipiki.The club is currently being run on a voluntary basis by a handful of individuals who take orders from its elders’ council on pertinent issues.Neither the technical team nor the players are on the payroll of the club, which at this stage does also not have a standing sponsorship agreement with any company.Yesterday, Escher Luanda, who has been the voluntary chief of operations at the club, confirmed that it was unanimously agreed that the interim committee be kept and that they should find potential investors to take over its operations.The elective annual general meeting was supposed to elect new members to serve for the club, but according to Luanda the current interim committee was given the go-ahead to stay in charge for the next four years.”The committee will be in charge for the next four years, but the first priority is to open up the club for investors to bid for ownership,” he said.He said the potential investors can be from any sector, provided they comply to the conditions that will be put in place by the management within the next few days.Earlier last week, sources indicated that if the club decides to go commercial, a well-known businessman in the transport industry is willing to invest at least N$1 million for the first season.Luanda said it was still premature to confirm any deals, but he will issue a statement later in the week to reveal the club’s plans.Tigers have not won a league title in more than 15 years, but have consistently kept their place in the elite league for more than a decade, while they have won numerous cup competitions during their spell as one of the most feared teams in the league.The interim committee that will stay in charge includes Onesmus Akwenye as the chairman, Peter Wilson, Isack Hamata, Lukas Nanyemba, Jakes Mbuti, Moses Leonard, Fly Ambunda and Elly Shipiki.