Windhoek
As opposed to the country’s other economic sectors where distressed jobless youths are required to have 10 years experience and degrees to secure a job, the Namibian football fraternity – the only sector which employs more than 500 of the country’s youth who don’t have the required degrees and experience to get a job elsewhere – is on the brink of a catastrophic collapse.
This follows yesterday’s announcement by MTC that it has effectively withdrawn its commitment to sponsor the Namibia Premier League (NPL) with the earlier promised N$45 million over three years, on condition that the NPL secures an additional sponsor who would come on board with N$9 million to cover the league’s envisaged N$24 million budget.
Upon completion of the MTC and NPL’s initial three-year sponsorship agreement in May this year, the league approached MTC with a much-improved proposal in the form of a budget aimed at taking Namibian football, the premier league in particular, to greater heights.
NPL then presented a new budget to MTC amounting to about N$24 million, a 62% increase from their previous annual budget of N$14,563,234, to which MTC positively replied by principally promising to commit an annual sponsorship amount of N$15 million (N$45 million over three years), on condition that the NPL finds an additional sponsor that would cover the deficit in the new budget amounting to about N$9 million (more than N$27 million over three years).
As part of that agreement, MTC gave the NPL until July 31 to secure an additional sponsor or risk losing their promised N$15 million per season sponsorship. But the NPL failed to secure a sponsor on the set due date of July 31, to which MTC again positively replied by giving them a due date extension of August 22 (which was yesterday), a date by which the NPL again failed to secure the additional sponsor.
As such, at a joint press conference in the capital yesterday, MTC announced that they have officially and unconditionally terminated their initial agreement of availing N$15 million over three years to the NPL because the league failed to adhere to the deadlines provided to them in securing a second league sponsor.
NPL chairperson Johnny ‘JJD’ Doeseb was however confident that despite MTC’s withdrawal, the league would still go on as planned in September, given that they could still secure sponsors by then – if not, it means there won’t be football this season.
What does MTC’s withdrawal mean to football?
In summary, MTC’s withdrawal from local football means that the livelihood of more than 500 of the country’s youth – many of whom have families and school-going children – is in serious jeopardy as they would be jobless.
Random statistics also indicate that 80% of players plying their trade in the NPL solely depend on their football income to feed their families and cater for their livelihoods, resulting in a catastrophic blow for their families as well.
Without football, it would also mean 500 of the country’s youth will be roaming the streets in search of income and means of taking care of their families – which would most probably result in further unwanted crime, drugs and alcohol abuse.