Founder of the MTC HopSol Youth League Collin Benjamin yesterday said they will abide by the decision of the court and allow African Stars’ youth teams to partake in the league along with the other teams.
“I mean, the court pronounced itself on the matter, so we will just have to follow the instructions of the court and allow the kids to play with the others. So, once the Covid-19 regulations are relaxed, they will form part of the league,” Benjamin told New Era.
His comments follow High Court Judge Thomas Masuku’s order on Thursday for the league to reinstate and integrate African Stars Football Club’s under-15, 17 and 19 teams into the league as part of the ongoing season.
Last month, Stars launched an urgent application with the High Court, challenging the MTC HopSol Youth League’s decision not to accept the club’s youth teams into the league after having initially agreed to accommodate them.
Stars accused the league’s leadership of having taken a decision not to accept Stars’ youth teams because of ongoing football politics and legal battles between Stars’ chairman Patrick Kauta and the country’s football association, the Namibia Football Association (NFA).
Kauta is also chairman of the expelled Namibia Premier League (NPL), which has a pending case against the NFA in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Switzerland. Stars, as a club, and its youth teams are not interested parties to the ongoing legal standoff between the NFA and Kauta at CAS.
Following their rejection by the MTC HopSol Youth League, Stars resolved to seek refuge with the High Court, as they felt the league’s leadership did not provide sufficient legal or legitimate reasons as to why their youth teams were kicked out, despite them meeting all requirements to join the league. On Thursday, judge Masuku, after reviewing all the facts, ordered that the league should reinstate Stars’ under-15, 17 and 19 teams into the league and incorporate them into the ongoing season.
The court also ordered Benjamin and trustees Guido Kandziora and Wieland Klinger, who were the first, second and third respondents in the matter to pay the costs of the application instituted by Stars. The matter was removed from the roll and regarded as finalised.