Local football pundits and analysts yesterday said they hope Fifa’s visit to Namibia next week will be fruitful in finding a tangible solution to the football fracas in the country.
Namibian football has been under serious distractions for the past few years, which saw the Namibia Football Association (NFA) president Ranga Haikali suspending secretary general Franco Cosmos, who in turn suspended Haikali on the order of the executive committee. Both accuse each other of mismanagement, corruption and fraud, among others.
Following the impasse between the two, Confederation of African Football (Caf) secretary general Veron Mosengo-Omba visited Namibia in November last year, and met NFA executives, sports minister Agnes Tjongarero, as well the leadership of the Namibia Sports Commission to discuss issues regarding football infighting in the country.
After the visit, Caf promised to provide a new roadmap for football in Namibia by December last year.
On Wednesday, Fifa announced that together with Caf, it will visit Namibia from 12-15 January to assess the overall situation at the association.
“The relevant respective Fifa and Caf representatives will be announced in due course separately,” read the Fifa letter.
Reacting to the news of the visit yesterday, Cosmos said the purpose of the visit is purely a stakeholder engagement to assess the overall situation of the association following the chronicles of the past few months.
Local football pundits weighed in on the issue, with local sports presenter Jovita Kandjumbwa saying she hopes they will find a concrete solution to the infighting.
“I would love to see the two bodies find a tangible solution which will see football in the country return. And also, maybe the current football constitution can be amended to make things easier on the pitch and the boardrooms. It will be important to work on salvaging the brand of football,” she said.
Also commenting on the visit, Hopsol Youth League and Namibia Premier League (NPL) chief executive Harald Fulle said he wants to see football return.
“I think Fifa should speak to all stakeholders not only the NFA. This includes the sponsors, line ministry, NPL. They should have a frank and open discussion which should be of greater benefit to the local football and find a solution,” he said.
Adding his two cents to the issue, legendary Brave Warriors midfielder Congo Hindjou also shared similar sentiments, saying the only and last hope is that Fifa finds a lasting solution to the problem.
“The mess needs to be sorted out; everyone is tired of the ongoing situation at Football House. I believe it’s only right for Fifa to come in and interfere and possibly find a lasting solution. The current leaders cannot find a solution to their problem that’s why we are still stuck here. All we want is peace and harmony at Football House, and at the moment there is no peace there,” Hindjou said.
- mkambukwe@nepc.com.na