Young African FC owner Maleagi Ngarizemo has firmly rejected allegations that he sold the club’s status to the Namibia Correctional Service (NCS) Football Club.

It is claimed that Ngarizemo had accepted a financial sum from NCS before the deal fell apart, but the coach and club owner strongly denied the assertion. 

NCS finished as runners-up in the Southern Stream First Devision during the 2023/2024 season. However, the Namibia Football Association (NFA) promoted Blue Boys FC to the Premier League instead of NCS. 

The issue stemmed from the eligibility of NCS for promotion, as there is team Khomas Nampol FC, which is already in the Premier League, and owned by the same Safety and Security institution, creating a conflict of interest.

In response, NCS took the NFA to court, challenging the decision to promote Blue Boys. While waiting for the court’s verdict, NCS allegedly began exploring alternative solutions, including the purchase of Premier League status from Ngarizemo’s club. 

According to sources, NCS reportedly offered N$1.3 million for the status, but only managed to pay N$450 000, with an agreement to settle the remainder within two months. 

This second payment, however, never materialised.

Despite the claims, Ngarizemo vehemently denied any involvement in the alleged transaction and refused to reveal or confirm if the said figure is what he wanted to sell for. 

“These are all lies… It is within our rights to engage in discussions if we choose to, and we did have talks last year around October when NCS faced expulsion from the league, but nothing came of it,” he stated, explaining that negotiations were never finalised. 

The coach continued, clarifying that his club is financially self-sustaining. 

“I bear the costs and finances of the club myself,” Ngarizemo asserted. He also revealed that NCS pressured some of the players, who are employed by Correctional Services, into not playing for Young African, threatening their jobs if they chose to continue.

“I have had to recruit players from scratch, and despite the difficulties, we are doing well. 

We are currently sitting second in the Debmarine Premier League, and we’ve made it to the quarterfinals of the MTC Maris Cup. All of this is the result of hard work and dedication,” he said.

Attempts to get a response from NCS on the matter were fruitless before going to print.

-lmupetami@nepc.com.na