So our national rugby team the Welwitschias hit the skies across the Indian Ocean to launch their assault in the International Rugby Board (IRB) World Cup in Japan, which gets underway in earnest in a few days’ time.
Namibia will be making her sixth appearance at the global showpiece and will look to break their duck of exiting without recording a single victory after several failed attempts since making their debut in France, 1999.
Having been drawn in the group of death Pool B, alongside undisputed defending champions New Zealand, twice world champions South Africa, Italy and world lightweights Canada, the Namibians will be favourites to fashion their first win at the expense of the North Americans.
Serial lack of proper competition is holding back the progress of domestic rugby and until such time IRB introduces a second tier international competition along the same format as the six nations and the Super Rugby Cup – teams in the southern hemisphere will remain in the shadow of their deep pocket counterparts from the northern hemisphere.
Nevertheless, the country has done the nation proud by qualifying for the global showpiece and we should all rally behind the team and wish them the best of luck.
Relegated Clubs fishing in troubled waters
As the ongoing cat-and-mouse game between the country’s football governing body, the Namibia Football Association (NFA) Normalization Committee (NC) and the MTC Premiership (NPL) continues to hog the headlines, hardcore Young African Football Club “langana” Mali Ngarizemo, has taken what is perhaps the greatest risk in his relatively short career as a football honcho.
The uncompromising former African Stars Football Club Brave Warriors football playing center back, has surprisingly thrown his weight behind MTC Premiership relegated teams Civics and Orlando Pirates as the pair fight tooth and nail to remain in the country’s flagship football league, at least for the time being.
It’s now a well-documented secret that the Gobabis outfit was demoted to the national division one league after the club was found guilty of gross misconduct for fielding an improperly registered player in the shape of Zimbabwean national, one Tapiwa Simon Musekiwa.
However, Young African appealed the heavy sanction imposed on them but the conspicuous absence of a recognized Appeals Committee has grounded the process.
As it stands, the club’s status is unclear pending the appeal. Yours truly believes the club might have a much stronger case through the appeal route.
These two cases should be divorced from each other, they are totally different kettles of fish, because the other two teams were relegated upon completion of league activities whereas Young African were demoted by virtue of having been docked points from the previous season.
You can’t have your bread buttered on both sides. The best option is to persuade football authorities to speed up the tortoise-paced appointment of a competent Appeals Committee and bring closure to this case. Yours truly still believe YA has a strong case to argue since a lot of basic procedures were violated, so to speak.
Now, did I hear the disgruntled clubs citing one of their primary grievances to be the NPL announcement or rather confirmation that the bottom three teams on the MTC Premiership log standings will no longer form part of the country’s flagship football league next season.
Really!! Does it really matter who announces the final log standings, something that was already thrown in the public domain?
It’s a global practice that relegation is not and has never been determined in boardrooms on the green table, football matches are won on the field of play with the team scoring the most number of goals declared the winner, picking up three points in the process. I rest my case.