Carlos Kambaekwa
WINDHOEK – World football governing body FIFA has dispatched another convoy to Windhoek for follow up behind the door talks with the Namibia Football Association (NFA) over recent squabbles within the NFA hierarchy, threatening to derail the fragile progress of domestic football.
New Era Sports has it on good authority that a two-member FIFA delegation will touch down at the Hosea Kutako International Airport, east of Namibia’s commercial capital Windhoek, tomorrow morning.
The two-member FIFA mission is led by Véron Mosengo-Omba, Director Member Associations; Africa & Caribbean accompanied by Stacy Lewis-Daniel, Senior Development Manager. The pair will arrive in Namibia tomorrow morning.
The pair will hold talks with the NFA President Frans Mbidi in the morning to be followed by another meeting with the NFA Executive in the afternoon.
On Wednesday, May, 16 it will be the turn of under fire out of contract NFA Secretary General Barry Rukoro who will be engaged in talks with the FIFA delegation.
The visiting FIFA delegation will also hold courtesy talks with the portfolio minister Erastus Uutoni and the entire NFA leadership before conclusion of their short Namibian safari.
The set agenda for the separate gatherings will mainly focus on the governance of the country’s football governing body NFA, focusing on the FIFA development support under the FIFA Forward programme.
However, it is not clear as to why FIFA has suddenly resolved to send another delegation to Namibia, short on the heels of another FIFA official Fani who visited the country recently for urgent engagement with the NFA top brass. Those with intimate knowledge of the ongoing saga within the troubled NFA corridors say there is something fishy about the unexpected FIFA visit as the NFA executive still awaits the findings of Fani’s report.
Insiders revealed to New Era Sport that Solomon Mudege, Senior Manager – Development Programmes Member Associations Division is a close ally to Mbidi and flamboyant COSAFA President Philip Shiyangwa, questioning Mudege’s impartiality in overseeing a dispute implicating his close ally.