The ongoing stressful shenanigans prevailing in our football are a serious cause of concern, so to speak.
When the application of basic rules and regulations governing the beautiful-turned-ugly game of football are constantly violated at the slightest provocation, shivers are likely to run riot in the bellies of hardened criminals.
The old saying that when two elephant bulls lock tusks, the grass suffers, will not exactly fit the bill in the current quagmire in which our football is entangled – it’s rather a scenario of when fools collide, catastrophe reigns supreme.
Truth be told, our football has been jumping from the frying pan into the fire - much to the chagrin of the game’s followers. Yours truly is damn sure that many of you would scorn to own me in a lie if I dare declare that the unfolding events will certainly reduce the Boswell Wilkie Circus to mere novices.
Our thick-skulled football administrators have collectively embarked on a destructive path via their totally unprovoked misinterpretation of justice, let alone simple guidelines. They have made it their sole province bending basic rules and regulations governing their ultimate togetherness within the structures of football.
One seriously wonders whether these blokes have ever heard about the famous phrase, don’t play the man, play the ball. It has become a vicious circle of repeated mistakes or rather sheer arrogance, punctuated by revenge and egos.
And whilst the big house (Football House) is on fire with accusations and counter-accusations going back and forth – the country’s flagship football league, the Namibia Premier League (NPL), has also joined the Comedy, stylishly impersonating big brother.
The unlawful suspension of Young African is another sign of ignorance in the area of correctly interpreting the rules governing the game of football. Article 13 of the NPL Constitution dealing with “Suspension” reads as follows verbatim:
“The Congress is responsible for suspending a Member. The Executive Committee may, however suspend a Member connected with a Member that seriously violates its obligations as a Member or a person connected with a Member with immediate effect. The suspension shall last until an Extra Ordinary Congress is convened.”
Companions in guilt move
Moving over to the big house, the show is on. Demonstrating that the case in question is not unique, a trick usually intended to dilute the force of an argument by showing that demands of consistency should lead the arguer to apply the same principles in further cases, something they forget or rather don’t want to do for reasons only known to themselves.
This amounts to pointing out that if the arguers really want to defend themselves their arguments and subsequent conclusion, they must bite the bullet and accept the further cases will have to be treated in the same fashion, or else explain what it is about the present case, which appears to share the relevant features.
Disgruntled NFA president Frans Mbidi is crying foul play and rightly so for not being accorded an opportunity to defend allegations of misconduct levelled against him, and now has come out with guns blazing, accusing his subjects of plotting to oust him in an apparent effort to prolong the secretary general’s lodging at Football House.
As the commander-in-chief, the NFA president should call these blokes to order but why wait until the house catches fire before acting? I’m just wondering. And to add salt to the wound, all and sundry are playing the tribal card to hide their not-so-cool agendas and justify their sinister motives.
Without mentioning names, all these blokes serving in football structures should all shoulder collective responsibility for the demise of Namibian football and do the honourable thing – vacate office without further delay. I rest my case.