You see, football administrators at the country’s flagship league, the MTC Premiership just never cease to amaze yours truly.
The fundamental question that needs to be addressed seriously is; what are these self-confessed football gurus, blokes in blue suits over there at football house smoking?
Surely, the weird decision to have the abandoned MTC Premiership match between Tura Magic and the visiting United Stars Football Club replayed over the remaining 25 minutes calls for serious skills audit within the annals of our football structures.
Rules are rules and should be respected and adhered to as such and should not be altered at the slightest provocation, as is the current trend at the NPL. Football clubs should not be left at the mercy of football administrators whose interpretation of the basic laws governing the game of football leaves much to be desired.
It should be taken into consideration that the abovementioned match was abbreviated by the match official and rightly so, as the pitch became unplayable as a result of a heavy downpour.
Unless NPL has its own rules dealing with abandoned matches, FIFA rules stipulate clearly that any match that is abandoned as a result of natural disasters must be replayed in its entirety, period!
Where did my learned colleagues apply their minds when they resolved to have the match replayed over the remaining 25 minutes, expecting poor United Stars to travel all the way from Rundu to Windhoek to play an abbreviated football match over 25 minutes? I’m just asking. That’s total madness and a travesty of justice in the real sense.
Not so long ago, the very same NPL management committee (MC) blundered big time by ordering Katutura glamour football club, African Stars, in no uncertain terms to replay the remaining eight minutes of their abandoned league match against Orlando Pirates.
The decision backfired with dire consequences, leaving the red-faced football officials with egg on the face, but in a desperate bid to justify their misinterpretation of basic rules – the MC is trying to correct its wrongdoings with another wrong – in the process bringing the game of football into disrepute.
Clubs should not seat arms folded when their colleagues find themselves at the receiving end of unscrupulous decisions and must roll up their sleeves and challenge such decisions collectively because what goes around comes round.
Is it perhaps now time for the country’s flagship league to introduce a Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) and do away with the MC when it comes to disciplinary issues, if we are to avoid these shoddy dealings that cause constant embarrassment to our beautiful-turned-ugly game? I’m just asking.
Retired footballers in dire need of assistance
Nowadays, it’s a very sad practice to walk past people one used to mingle with freely and shared great moments on the football pitch because one is always afraid to greet these blokes for the mere fact that what is meant to be an innocent handshake is to be reciprocated in cash payment.
A significant number of former footballers have fallen on bad times not knowing where their next meal is going to come from to the extent that they have now become regular beggars.
There is this former footballer, whose bullet-like shots have left many goalkeepers with disfigured fingers.
In years gone by, the likeable former midfielder was admired by many for his football virtuosity and used to ply his trade with a top club from up north. Those close to him claim the brother is becoming a nuisance to the very same people who adored him in his heyday.
The desperate brother has now made it his sole beat to constantly harass former players with requests for handouts, thus driving his close friends to cut all ties with him. I rest my case.