Windhoek
As widely expected the Namibia Football Association (NFA) at its Executive Committee meeting on Saturday summarily revoked its secretary general Barry Rukoro’s unlawful suspension.
The long serving football administrator was the subject of a tug of war between the NFA president Frans Mbidi and some football heavyweights within the NFA hierarchy. The dominant view is that Rukoro’s shocking suspension was totally out of sync with laws and rules governing human resource practices.
Observers believe Mbidi’s unilateral decision to unarm Rukoro was driven by emotions or rather egos after two of football’s most powerful heavyweights clashed over what many say is a petty issue.
The gathering found Mbidi to have acted outside the scope of his designated confines and resolved to nullify the suspension with immediate effect. It has also emerged that Mbidi failed to advance legal grounds to back his decision on Rukoro’s suspension.
It’s believed the NFA president has no authority whatsoever to appoint or dismiss NFA employees – hence the decision to revoke Rukoro’s suspension.
Although the executive has resolved to embark on internal disciplinary procedures to determine the severity of Rukoro‘s alleged gross insubordination and transgression of clear instructions from the NFA president to pave the way forward, insiders say they will not have a leg to stand on as the association does not have written rules governing its employees.
COSAFA Cup date amended
Meanwhile, the gathering announced that the 2016 Cosafa Senior Challenge to be hosted by Namibia has been rescheduled to June from May in Windhoek.
The decision to reschedule the competition was aimed at regional leagues (Cosafa) to conclude their assignments, a practice that would feely allow players to participate in the much sought after regional tourney.
In the meantime, the NFA has appointed a Local Organising Committee (LOC) and will soon meet with the Cosafa Organising Committee to get their ducks in the row as it pursues to host a memorable competition never witnessed in our neck of the woods.
The executive reiterated that it was burning the midnight oil to find a suitable sponsor for Namibia’s flagship competition, the NFA Cup, and promised to make an announcement in that regard when potential sponsors come on board.
In another unrelated issue on the agenda, the Namibia Premier League Statutory Documents (Constitution, Rules and Regulations and the Disciplinary Code) were approved with amendments.