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Home / Get your ducks in the row or face the music – NFA
Get your ducks in the row or face the music – NFA
2015-04-01Staff Report 2 WINDHOEK – Local football clubs plying their trade in the country’s topflight league, the MTC Premiership, could find themselves in hot water with football authorities as a result of continuous non-adherence to strict rules laid down by the world’s football governing body FIFA. The country’s leading football clubs are in for a rude awakening and could face sanctions with far-reaching repercussions for non-adherence to newly introduced by-laws and rules by FIFA. The rules are aimed at improving efficiency at club level while also seeking to develop the game of football at grassroots level with lots of emphasis placed on youth developmental programmes across the board. In an exclusive interview with New Era Sport, Namibia Football Association (NFA) Secretary General Barry Rukoro urged clubs to get their ducks in the row and start without further delay the implementation of the FIFA club licensing system. Failure to adhere to the request could come back to haunt the clubs big time in terms of survival. “There are no two ways – clubs must come to the party and set up proper facilities for training grounds while they must have youth teams in their structures,” says the long-serving football administrator. As of next season, clubs failing to adhere to this noble plea could face sanctions including the deduction of valuable league points for failure to have youth teams in their structures. “This is very serious – clubs could be docked three points for each and every offence committed while coaches are also required to be in possession of a B-license coaching certificate.” According to Rukoro, so far Tura Magic and MTC Premiership new boys Citizens are the only two clubs moving towards the FIFA licensing system in the area of youth development structures. As it stands, South Africa leads the pack of football associations on the African continent to heed the call while clubs from Morrocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Ghana and Algeria are in harmony with the FIFA recommendations. Any club in breach of the FIFA licensing system will not be allowed to participate in continental competitions. 2015-04-01Staff Report 2
