Jefta M. Gaoab
The recent last-minute communiqué pertaining to the transfer of players for the 2023/24 football season ought to have given clarity, but only led to chaos and more confusion. From clarity to chaos was perpetrated by those in charge who are supposed to be the custodians of the rules and regulations on players’ transfers.
I don’t want to be misconstrued as someone who is against the rules and regulations on the transfer of players, whether they are amateurs or contracted players. Whether we like it or not, players will always move, and that’s why the legal framework was crafted accordingly to take care of that aspect. The clubs with financial muscle will always buy—that is a given. My bone of contention is rather with the way in which those officials at Soccer House who are supposed to uphold and clearly interpret the rules and regulations without fear or favour seemingly have become a law unto themselves. Their behaviour in this regard is costing Namibian football a great deal, especially to those who have invested heavily in developing and nurturing players.
First and foremost, it is my considered view and the view of those who understand that all the rules and regulations governing football should be aligned to those of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA). It means that member associations should align their football rules and regulations with those of FIFA. No member association’s rules should supersede the rules of FIFA, but rather be aligned with them.
On the eve of the kick-off of the Namibia Premier Football League (NPFL), a hastily-prepared Interim Secretary General’s Brief (ISG) without a clear date of communication, as opposed to the norm of dating the communiques or circulars, made the rounds on social media. This in itself is a clear testimony to how we go around in a casual manner about an issue which might have serious repercussions.
I have extensively read up on the rules and regulations that govern the status, registration and transfer of players of the Namibia Football Association in relation to that of other member associations to FIFA in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and a few North and West African countries. I must admit that the mentioned countries’ rules and regulations, particularly the status, registration and transfer of players, are more in alignment with the rules of FIFA, although there might be slight differences in terms of the length of the periods that vary slightly, depending on what aspect is being addressed. (e.g., 18 days, 30 days, 30 months, etc.)
Allow me to delve further into Article31, which deals with the Registration of Amateur Players, to put things into context as far as our case is concerned.
31.2 “An amateur player’s registration will expire at the end of the season for which he is registered, or within four (4) days of the club’s last match of that season, whichever is later.”
Why should it be four (4) days? These four (4) days were deliberately arrived at with a clear intention and at the expense of the football clubs and academies which heavily invested in the grooming of the amateur players. It is irrational and nonsensical, and it was not taken in the best interest of football fair play. The four (4) days are not progressive, and they smack of groupings and the advancement of purported elitism at Soccer House at the expense of the football game, which is subject to strict rules and regulations.
These four (4) days must be reviewed and set aside for the proposed thirty (30) days. After all, we hardly start our leagues on time.
31.2 “An amateur player will be free to sign for another club after having obtained a clearance certificate from his current club or NFA, or on submission of proof that the player’s amateur registration has ended.”
Again, I believe an amateur player first and foremost must be cleared by his current club, irrespective and all things considered. With the possession of the clearance certificate, he can join the club of his choice. The parent clubs never issued a clearance certificate(s) to the amateurs, and I am challenging the NFA leadership to furnish us with the correctly-dated clearance certificate(s) they have issued to the amateur players on submission of proof that the player’s amateur registration had expired. I doubt that they are able to do so since this arrangement was modelled in the interest of those close to Soccer House.
The talk of players being “free agents”, even though some were contracted, started when the transitional league was played in 2021, as some teams never had players and wanted to lure players to their teams - and they succeeded. I am on record having questioned that arrangement, and requested documentary proof with the article I penned during March 2021, from the football association to that effect, but in vain. It was almost at the same time that the electronic player registration system (E-Connect) was introduced in Namibia.
The electronic player registration system is supposed to benefit all the stakeholders in football.
The football association kept on snoring as they are accustomed to and, at the last minute, were awoken from their slumber and issued a hastily-written and undated circular with the audacity of even terming it as “The NFA Secretariat is inundated with enquiries from the clubs on the important matter of the transfer of players”. Important matters are being handled casually, to the detriment of clubs and academies.
As per the Football Association’s rules and regulations’ approved version (27 March 2021) under Article 67. Matters not provided for and changes to these rules, state: 67.4 The amendments to the rules ought to have been communicated in writing to the members, regional leagues, women’s leagues, youth leagues, affiliated members and all clubs by the NFA secretariat within five (5) days of the amendment. And boom, after almost two (2) years and six (6) months, you come and tell us about “inundated enquiries”. This is evidence of sleeping on duty.
FIFA is very clear in terms of the registration of players. Hence, the electronic players’ registration system (E-connect) was introduced for amateur and professional players. I cannot, at this juncture, over-emphasise the benefits of the system for all football stakeholders. The Football Association failed to timeously inform all its football stakeholders about the amendments, and failed to protect and safeguard the many rules and regulations on the status and transfer of players, especially to the clubs and academies which developed the players.
Why am I saying this? The E-connect system was not timeously implemented, and by the writing of this article, the first and second division teams and most probably the academies are still struggling to register, or have not registered the players or talent they have identified, groomed, developed and nurtured mostly via their drawings. Some NPFL teams exploited this to their advantage at the expense of the clubs and academies which developed the players since they were afforded the first opportunity to register players on the E-connect system through dubious means. How do we ensure that the teams/clubs and academies which trained and developed players benefit in the absence of the E-connect system that was deliberately delayed for implementation by certain football stakeholders? The interface or transition of the electronic player registration system process for the first and second divisions and academies resorting to or registered as members of the Football Association never got priority.
Certainly, this testimony gave rise to the nonsensical four (4) days as per the registration of amateur players. This has now resulted in the mentioned stakeholders not being timeously registered or having their players on the E-connect system. This also denied them from getting possible development and compensation funds, as it is clearly stipulated that the clubs will be entitled to compensation for the training and development of amateur players whose registration has been transferred from them, only in accordance with the provisions of the NFA and FIFA.
How are they going to benefit if the transfer was not done by them as the Football Association was in slumber? It is incomprehensible that the very officials at the Football Association were ignorant of these explicit rules on the status, registration and transfer of players, or whether they just turned a blind eye since some of them are conflicted as they are aligned and associated with Namibia Premier Football League teams. As is customary, clubs and academies ought to be compensated for the transfer of players via the payment of clearance fees, and these fees should aid the clubs and academies to plough back again. This opportunity has been denied to the clubs and academies that really worked hard to develop the players.
Some greedy football club owners with locked-in thinking jumped on the bandwagon of these fallacies and the grey area created by the Football Association without shame, and capitalised accordingly. Be reminded that we need each other in football; it’s a lifelong journey, and as long as you are involved in football, my plea to those with integrity is to compensate and pay the clearance fees to the clubs and football academies whose players you have snatched, for the sake of football fair play to prevail. Let history judge you positively one day.
Logically, had the football association timeously informed all its stakeholders about the amendments and had the electronic player registration system been simultaneously conducted amongst all stakeholders (first, second division, academies and women’s football), we would not be sitting with this mess today, and its effects will be long-lasting, thanks to the Namibia Football Association.
Clearly, the Namibia Football Association in this regard was not helping the game of football flourish based on rules and regulations, but based on their inability to inform stakeholders and, at times, their misinterpretation of the rules on gut feelings and alignment to teams, and therefore continuously creating problems they have no solutions to.
* Football Supporter