By Carlos Kambaekwa
Well! The sole topic of conversation for the past week has been the inauguration of the Dr Hage Geingob Soccer Cup featuring Katutura glamour football club African Stars and South African Professional Soccer League (PSL) champions Mamelodi Sundowns FC.
Obviously, we must applaud football authorities and those who came up with the noble idea to honour a great statesman in the most dignified fashion but the fundamentals of this supposedly well-meant venture remain quite open for debate.
A quick glance at the rationale to invite Sundowns, a football club with a virtually non-existing physical attractiveness as can be attested by their limited support base on our shores, makes one to believe or rather conclude the preferred choice of opponent and the applied methodology were indeed poor decisions.
The pace at which corporate businesses responded to the call to come on board for this wonderful football bonanza is a crystal clear sign that Namibian football is on the right track if such large amounts of moolah can be splashed out on a one-day gathering with very little effort.
What bothers the mind is the secrecy over the actual amount paid out to the visitors in appearance fees in comparison to the N$150 000 Sundowns’ opponents African Stars received and the N$200 000 shared equally by both Tigers and Black Africa for appearing in the curtain raiser – a disparity that boils down to a travesty of justice, thus compelling yours truly to have a bone to pick with the decision-makers.
Surely the devil is in the detail – local football clubs should not be paraded as the cat’s paw because Sundowns’ claim and insistence that they are not interested in money is a cock and bull story, so to speak. It should be well understood that yours truly is not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill but the mentioned unconfirmed figure paid to Sundowns is tantamount to robbing Peter to pay Paul.
This gesture is like throwing one’s pearls to the swine because Sundowns under the stewardship of Africa’s second richest man, one Patrice Motsepe does not really need the money more than the poor local clubs who could have shared that amount wisely. Let the cat out of the bag and reveal the actual figure to avoid unnecessary criticism.
Stars took a giant leap in the dark
There is an old saying that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush – African Stars’ decision or rather pure greed to squeeze as many matches within a short space of time in between a congested schedule at the expense of few dollars could come back to haunt them big time.
Bearing a miracle, Stars will have a mount Kilimanjaro to scale in pursuit of toppling Black Africa from the pedestal with crucial league matches coming up thick and fast over the next couple of days including their defence in the final of the lucrative Bidvest Cup.
Suffice to say that the N$150 000 might come in handy for the time being but could have far-reaching repercussions with the looming one-million dollars that await them for the league title a distant possibility placed on the shoulders of human beings with tired legs.
As it stands, the Reds are fighting on two fronts and look poised for a rare cub double that comes with the coveted league title and Bidvest Cup, but fatigue could have the final say when the club hits the home straight. I rest my case.