Clubs plying their trade in the country’s topflight league are currently swimming in a pool of confusion on whether league activities will start this weekend or not, as communication from the Namibia Football Association (NFA) is presently haphazard.
The NFA announced a few weeks ago that the league will kick start this coming weekend, but all forerunning formalities that usually precede the commencement of the league, such as the launch of the new season, issuing of competition rules, club licensing and releasing of grants to the clubs have all not yet taken place.
New Era Sport has established through reliable sources that sponsorship negotiations between the NFA and Debmarine are still ongoing, with the two parties still busy putting final touches to their anticipated agreement.
Various clubs also confirmed to this publication that they have not yet received their seasonal grants to help with preparations and booking of training venues ahead of the 2024/25 season.
This publication also understands that from all the leagues, only African Stars is fully- licensed by Caf. Without the finalisation of the club licensing process, it will be difficult for the league to start on time.
Rundu-based club Julinho Sporting Athletic’s chairman Nelson Luis, confirmed that his club has not yet received its seasonal grants from the league or the NFA, which he said is unusual and worrying for many clubs.
“The whole situation is just confusing. One week you are preparing the players for the upcoming season, and then the next moment you are being told the league won’t be starting. At this point, we have no idea when the league will start. We have not even received any grants, which is a clear sign that the league may not start as communicated by the NFA leadership. It’s exhausting, but as Namibians, we have become accustomed to this kind of disorganisation from our football leadership,” said a frustrated Luis.
Another club chairman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, equally expressed doubt about the league starting this weekend, saying there is no clear communication from the NFA.
“How do you start a new season without launching the league? There is a lack of clarity on whether the sponsorship deal had been finalised with Debmarine. We don’t even know how much funding the teams will receive this upcoming season. I believe the league is more likely to start in mid-November or even early December,” he said.
Attempts to get a comment from the NFA proved futile, as the secretary general’s phone went unanswered.
Impasse
Last month, Debmarine communicated to the NFA its willingness to sponsor the league with N$18 million for the 2024/25 season, but only on condition that the league is disbanded from the NFA, and is run autonomously.
The condition, Debmarine said, is non-negotiable, and includes the NFA making sure that all pending disputes with regard to the number of clubs that will constitute the league in the coming season are fully-resolved.
Another condition put forth by Debmarine is for the NFA, in collaboration with clubs and with support from Fifa, to come up with a concrete and sustainable plan on how the league’s proposed independence will be achieved starting from the 2025/26 season.
“Debmarine envisions a model where the league operates as a separate entity, with or without a minority stake by the NFA, to ensure smoother governance and day-to-day operations. This model will create a strong brand that could attract additional sponsors and investment,” Debmarine said in its letter dated 5 September 2024.
The above conditions and the set deadlines are all non-negotiable, and could be potential deal-breakers should the NFA fail to meet them, Debmarine strongly pointed out.
-mkambukwe@nepc.com.na