The Namibia Football Association (NFA) will this coming Thursday meet with new Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service to pave way for a mutual working relationship, while also working on modalities around the association’s three cases at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
NFA president Ranga Haikali on Easter Sunday announced that the local football federation was invited by new sports minister Agnes Tjongarero and her deputy Emma Kantema-Goamas for a consultative meeting.
“We are pleased to share that both the minister of sports and the deputy are not new to sports and football in Namibia. Through the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC), we will continue to work with all our stakeholders for the development of our beloved sport football,” said Haikali.
And in line with measures taken to combat the spread of Covid-19, Haikali said that the NFA will at the meeting with the minister be represented by Khomas-based members of the executive only, in order to avoid overcrowding at the meeting.
“We have to abide and that is why we can only go with the Executive Committee members who are in Khomas at the moment. We losing much time to this pandemic but we need to recognise its effects and act responsibly and do what is possible given the circumstances. We further commend the gesture of the ministry and urge you all to support the efforts of the new minister in this regard,” he added.
With regard to the NFA’s pending cases at CAS, Haikali also provided an update on the legal matters before the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The three cases are: CAS 2020/A/6769 – Frans Vatileni Mbidi vs NC/NFA: Frans vs Mbidi is seeking relief with regard to the electoral vetting process for the NFA Election process; CAS 2020/A/6773 – Mpasi Haingura/Patrick Kauta vs NC/NFA and Ranga Haikali with regard to electoral vetting for the NFA election process; and CAS 2020/A/6866 – NPL vs NFA with regard to their suspension by the NFA.
“What we can share at the moment is that after the above three cases were registered with CAS, the NFA with the assistance and advice from FIFA, have agreed to appoint a legal counsel with offices in Lausanne, Switzerland. We are finalizing a few matters such as PoA and notification of the CAS secretariat. These three cases are going to be costly. Please bear with us and we are going to try to keep you abreast of this highly technical process. We have endured the High Court and Supreme Court cases in Namibia, and we are awaiting the process of taxing of the cost’s awards in both those cases. The justice systems or legal processes are very long and costly processes, we are however positive and the integrity of these processes are solid,” Haikali states.
“What we ought to focus on is to unite and play football. We have the talents, resources and the future generations to pass a legacy on. We hope to overcome all challenges and move forward.
Looking ahead… NFA president Ranga Haikali