Maqonda Ndlovu
The Namibia Football Associations have failed to register the 2022/23 FNB Women’s Super League (WSL) winners Tura Magic FC with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for their participation in this year’s Africa Women’s Champions League, whose qualifiers are set to start in September.
Tura Magic have lost an opportunity to participate in the upcoming Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) Champions League tournament scheduled for September, which serves as a qualifier for the CAF Women’s Champions League.
Following Magic’s request to the NFA for the condonation of the club’s late registration, the acting secretary general of the NFA, Jochen Traut, wrote a letter on 27 June to the Head of Professional Football Development, Muhammad Sidat, requesting the late registration of Tura Magic after the expiration of the deadline.
The league ended in mid-June, while the clubs, through the NFA, were expected to indicate their interest by 31 May; by that time, the WSL was still in progress.
According to CAF, if the league is not concluded by the due date, the NFA should have sent the names of the top four teams at that time, who were leading the race to become champions by the end of the season.
It appears the information sent by CAF to the NFA on the registration deadline and other requirements was never shared with clubs.
Traut is quoted as saying the Fifa Normalisation Committee at NFA was under pressure and could ‘have slept’ on the deadline to register the Namibian WSL Champions.
However, it seems the pleas have fallen on deaf ears, as on Sunday, CAF released a list of teams that either have already qualified or are participating in qualifiers for the tournament, which will take place in Ivory Coast.
In this list, Tura Magic’s name is missing.
New Era Sport reached out to Traut, and his response was, “As you can see, our request to condone our late application was not considered by CAF. Very disappointing, but lessons learned.”
A screen short obtained by New Era shows that Traut told the participants of a Women’s Super League group that the failure to register Tura Magic was because “the WSL ended after the closing date by CAF for registration”.
“Closing date was 31 May. We had written a letter to CAF to condone our late registration after the conclusion of the WSL. They did not entertain our request. Hence, Tura’s application was not considered due to the late application,” the message on the screen short says.
This has irked Tura Magic management and players, who questioned the sincerity of the NC in developing women’s football.
Magic released a statement yesterday saying it’s unfortunate they will not be participating in the Champions League qualifiers.
“We extend our sincerest apologies to our players, whose unwavering commitment and determination have been nothing short of awe-inspiring throughout the season. Your triumphs on the field not only showcased your exceptional talent but also served as an inspiration to aspiring female athletes across our nation,” the statement said.
One senior Tura Magic player who requested anonymity slammed the NFA, saying they had committed a blunder of the highest order.
The player told New Era Sport that the same NFA had moved mountains to make sure African Stars participated in this year’s Champions League “despite some issues related to the CAF licensing requirements”.
She said the NFA does not take women’s football seriously.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Women’s Football Department at the NFA, Monica Shapwa, expressed her disappointment on the issue.
“This is very disappointing from the NFA as they are not advancing women’s football at the pace they are doing for men’s football. They received the letter to register the winning team but opted to rather ensure that African Stars were registered and not the winner of the FNB WSL. This is another setback for women’s football. Until when will this be happening? Last time we had to fight tooth and nail to get the team registered,” she
fumed.
She added that the NFA did not do justice to women’s football, especially as clubs put money and effort into getting opportunities to be scouted.
“Those dreams are killed by the federation, which has to ensure they avail the opportunities to the clubs and players,” she said.
Tura Magic Ladies last competed in the Cosafa Women’s Championship in 2021, during the tournament’s inaugural edition.
Unfortunately, they faced disappointment in the group stages, suffering a 3-0 defeat against Zimbabwe’s Black Rhinos Queens and a 1-0 loss to Zambia’s Green Buffaloes. –jrnmarko@gmail.com