Windhoek
There seems to be no end to the MTC Premiership’s prolonged search for an additional sponsor (or sponsors) to kick-start activities in the 2016/2017 football season.
The country’s flagship league, the Namibia Premier League (NPL), and its principal sponsor, MTC, issued a joint press release yesterday informing the public that the widely anticipated press joint conference slated for yesterday has been called off.
The gathering was essentially meant to inform the public whether the cash-strapped NPL has managed to secure any additional sponsors or not.
That announcement will now be made on the 22nd of this month at the request of the NPL.
The league indicated in a letter to MTC that it is making steady progress towards the sourcing of funds and is awaiting feedback – hence the request for an extension of the deadline, to which MTC duly agreed.
The deadline of July 31 was set on the basis that the league kick-off was slated for August 20, but in its letter requesting an extension, the NPL informed MTC that the league will only start on September 16.
“As much as we were very strict on the deadline we agreed on we have no objection with their request, but it should be noted that we’re not going to extend the 22nd August deadline anymore.
“This is because we need to know whether we are together or not and this should be done way before the league is scheduled for kick off,” remarked Tim Ekandjo, MTC’s chief human capital and corporate affairs officer.
In light of the latest developments, the joint press conference has now been scheduled for 09h00 on August 22 at Football House to update the public at large about the state of affairs and the way forward.