Maqonda Ndlovu
The Namibia Football Association (NFA) Secretariat has written a letter to all the regional chairpersons and coordinators requesting them to submit registration forms and all required documents for the start of the Women’s Senior Leagues.
In a letter seen by New Era Sport, Jochen Traut informed the regions that the NFA had received money from Fifa to support each region, hence the request for the above-mentioned documents, including fixtures.
“The documents must be submitted to the NFA head office in Windhoek no later than Friday, 30 June 2023. Funding for each region will be determined by the number of regions that submit documentation to the satisfaction of the NFA. The NFA will expect these leagues to kick off in July,” the acting secretary general of the NFA said in the letter.
The letter adds that if there are regional leagues that are not able to start in July this year, they must kick off early next year and should not submit anything for the time being.
When this publication enquired about the total amount received from Fifa, Traut confirmed that indeed the NFA had received funds from Fifa, but refused to reveal how much they got.
“It’s confidential information, sorry,” he responded.
When contacted for comment, Monica Shapwa, the chairperson of the Namibia Women’s Football Association, said this is in line with the department’s 2022-2025 strategic plan.
“We have been eagerly waiting for these funds since we applied for it some time ago. We applied for these funds from the Fifa Forward Programme. These are exciting times for women’s football. It is long… long overdue,” She said.
Shapwa said the regional leagues are very important as they are part of the pillars which aims to encourage mass participation, which will lead to a continuous supply of quality players to the national team, the Brave Gladiators.
Shapwa added that the strong regional leagues will create opportunities for girls all over the country to develop their skills from juniors to senior national teams.
“This was one of our mandates when we took office. As the chairperson, women’s football was only played in a few regions, but I wanted to see the game being played all over the country, these funds will help us achieve that dream,” she said.
Shapwa further explained it has been previously proven that football creates education and employment opportunities for women, among other benefits.
Meanwhile, Regina Ngalangi, from the Kavango East Namibia Women Football Association, said they are ready for kick off, as they have already submitted their documentation to the NFA.
“Our league will initially consist of eight to 12 teams. We are just waiting for the head office to give us direction regarding the inclusion of teams that are a distance from Rundu. We are also planning on launching the league in the first two weeks of July before we officially kick off,” she said.
Ngalangi added that they are busy sourcing sponsorship to supplement Fifa funds.
The NWFA strategic plan states that ‘By 2025 and we want to see regional women’s football structures up and running, we must ensure a national league that is highly competitive and remunerating players and officials.’