Tigers aim for semi-pro status

TIGERS Football Club will from today position itself to become a semi-professional team after an illustrious history of close to 80 years as a community team.

The team will hold a fundraising dinner tonight with the aim of creating a sound financial base, as it prepares to move into a semi-professional set-up, while it also wants to develop its infrastructure and football at the youth level. Tigers chairman Kelly Asser says the team has realised that in today’s world, there is a need to run a football team as a business.He said the club could only transform itself into a semi-professional outfit if it moved away from the concept of being a community-based team.The club will turn 80 next year and has further plans to develop a stadium at its premises that has been lying idle for years after acquiring land from the City of Windhoek.Asser said the club has a long-term lease agreement with the City of Windhoek for the premises that it wishes to develop, adding that the advantages of such a venture would be that the premises are close to the team’s support base.Most of the support base of Tigers is in Donkerhoek in Katutura and the plot of land is opposite the Jan Jonker High School.Tigers, affectionately known as ‘Ingweinyama’ had ambitions for years to develop a stadium for the club, but a lack of finances prevented them from even putting up a clubhouse that can raise money to proceed with the development of the facility.In the medium term, the team is looking at setting up a youth development structure which will focus on setting up a junior team.The junior team is aimed at feeding the Tigers senior team, which is currently playing in the Namibia Premier League.Asser said the idea is to ensure that the youngsters have a worthy pastime and by the time they graduate to the senior team, they would be ready for the rigours of premiership football.Tigers have never won a league championships since Independence, but have one behind their name which they clinched in 1985.They have won the Namibia Football Association (NFA) Cup twice, (1995 and 1996), the most lucrative cup competition in the country.They have in fact played the most finals in that competition, reaching it a total of six times.Also in 1996, Tigers won the famous Metropolitan Shield, a double for them with the NFA Cup.At this stage, Namibia has only three semi-professional clubs – Buschschule Civics of Windhoek, Windhoek Optics Ramblers, also in Windhoek, and Blue Waters at Walvis Bay.These are the only three domestic premiership sides that pay their players, while the other clubs offer other incentives to players rather than fixed salaries at the end of each month.United Africa is currently the official sponsor of Tigers and the duration of the contract is undetermined.Tigers ended in a disappointing seventh position last season after they lost their successful bid to the campaign halfway through the season, despite a good start in the first round of matches.A change of coaches also affected their performance last season after Bobby Samaria took over from Ali Akan, as players needed to adapt to the new coach and his playing style.Last season, Tigers won only eight of their total of 22 matches and their strikers were on target 39 times.During the 2004/2005 season, Tigers were in a respectable fourth place, but will this season be expected to stand out and be counted among the big forces in the elite league.Despite having some of the finest players in the league, Tigers have been an average side which at times failed to win the games that matter.Other clubs that are on the path to becoming semi-professional are Black Africa and Orlando Pirates, but their efforts have not paid off in a major way, as neither of them has an official sponsor.Black Africa, Orlando Pirates, Tigers and African Stars are the four oldest clubs in the premiership and have some of the biggest support bases, but have failed to set the pace for professionalism in Namibian football.Tigers will at their prize-giving launch a range of casual wear for the club’s supporters, through which they want to raise funds.The team said they will also have a number of exhibition matches in different parts of the country later this year, and will unveil their new patron tonight .The guest speaker will be the South African Premier Soccer League’s financial director, Ronnie Schloss, who will speak on how to move from amateur status towards professionalism.Minister of Sport John Mutorwa will be the keynote speaker at the event.The event starts at 19h00 at the Windhoek Country Club.Tigers chairman Kelly Asser says the team has realised that in today’s world, there is a need to run a football team as a business.He said the club could only transform itself into a semi-professional outfit if it moved away from the concept of being a community-based team.The club will turn 80 next year and has further plans to develop a stadium at its premises that has been lying idle for years after acquiring land from the City of Windhoek.Asser said the club has a long-term lease agreement with the City of Windhoek for the premises that it wishes to develop, adding that the advantages of such a venture would be that the premises are close to the team’s support base.Most of the support base of Tigers is in Donkerhoek in Katutura and the plot of land is opposite the Jan Jonker High School.Tigers, affectionately known as ‘Ingweinyama’ had ambitions for years to develop a stadium for the club, but a lack of finances prevented them from even putting up a clubhouse that can raise money to proceed with the development of the facility.In the medium term, the team is looking at setting up a youth development structure which will focus on setting up a junior team.The junior team is aimed at feeding the Tigers senior team, which is currently playing in the Namibia Premier League.Asser said the idea is to ensure that the youngsters have a worthy pastime and by the time they graduate to the senior team, they would be ready for the rigours of premiership football.Tigers have never won a league championships since Independence, but have one behind their name which they clinched in 1985.They have won the Namibia Football Association (NFA) Cup twice, (1995 and 1996), the most lucrative cup competition in the country.They have in fact played the most finals in that competition, reaching it a total of six times.Also in 1996, Tigers won the famous Metropolitan Shield, a double for them with the NFA Cup.At this stage, Namibia has only three semi-professional clubs – Buschschule Civics of Windhoek, Windhoek Optics Ramblers, also in Windhoek, and Blue Waters at Walvis Bay.These are the only three domestic premiership sides that pay their players, while the other clubs offer other incentives to players rather than fixed salaries at the end of each month.United Africa is currently the official sponsor of Tigers and the duration of the contract is undetermined.Tigers ended in a disappointing seventh position last season after they lost their successful bid to the campaign halfway through the season, despite a good start in the first round of matches.A change of coaches also affected their performance last season after Bobby Samaria took over from Ali Akan, as players needed to adapt to the new coach and his playing style.Last season, Tigers won only eight of their total of 22 matches and their strikers were on target 39 times.During the 2004/2005 season, Tigers were in a respectable fourth place, but will this season be expected to stand out and be counted among the big forces in the elite league.Despite having some of the finest players in the league, Tigers have been an average side which at times failed to win the games that matter.Other clubs that are on the path to becoming semi-professional are Black Africa and Orlando Pirates, but their efforts have not paid off in a major way, as neither of them has an official sponsor.Black Africa, Orlando Pirates, Tigers and African Stars are the four oldest clubs in the premiership and have some of the biggest support bases, but have failed to set the pace for professionalism in Namibian football.Tigers will at their prize-giving launch a range of casual wear for the club’s supporters, through which they want to raise funds.The team said they will also have a number of exhibition matches in different parts of the country later this year, and will unveil their new patron tonight .The guest speaker will be the South African Premier Soccer League’s financial director, Ronnie Schloss, who will speak on how to move from amateur status towards professionalism.Minister of Sport John Mutorwa will be the keynote speaker at the event.The event starts at 19h00 at the Windhoek Country Club.