Otniel Hembapu
Windhoek-If there is anybody to blame for the worsening situation of hundreds of local unemployed footballers, it should be the country’s football administrators who have crippled the beautiful game with their greed and egoism, the Namibia Football Players Union (NAFPU) is of the opinion.
During yesterday’s low-key demonstration at Football House in Katutura, NAFPU president Lolo Goraseb and secretary-general Olsen Kahiriri handed a petition to the NFA executive listing the various grievances of players and other issues affecting football locally.
Accompanied by a decent number of protestors, stakeholders and fans, Goraseb was first to express his disappointment in the NFA and Namibia Premier League (NPL) leadership, saying the incessant boardroom politics between both bodies have robbed hundreds of local footballers of an opportunity to put bread on the table for their families.
“We are genuinely concerned about the players’ well-being and the plight of their families, which has been badly affected by the boardroom politics of NFA and NPL. Thus we are again calling on the Namibia Sport Commission (NSC) to urgently come on board and rescue our players from the jaws of poverty. It high time they intervene because what the NFA and NPL are busy with is nonsense. We are sick and tired of this ongoing football politics,” said a vexed Goraseb.
The petition, which was read out to those in attendance by Kahiriri, was received by the personal assistant to NFA secretary-general Barry Rukoro.
Both Rukoro and NFA president Frans Mbidi were not present to receive the petition yesterday as they were already on their way out of the country heading to Bahrain to attend the 67th FIFA congress. NSC chief administrator Freddie Mwiya and officials from the line ministry were also not present to receive the petition.