Zebaldt Ngaruka
The anticipated peaceful march that was organised by premier league team Young African from Omaheke region but was postponed last week, is scheduled to take, this morning.
The purpose of the demonstration is to express the team’s dissatisfaction with the Gobabis Municipality’s decision to deny them access to practice at Legare Stadium’s Field B.
In a discussion with New Era Sport, Maleagi Ngarizemo, the chairperson of Young African, said the involvement of the regional council leadership was the main factor that led to the postponement of the demonstration.
“We respected the call from the regional leadership and more importantly, the National World Food Day commemorations that took place at Legare on the day of our planned demonstration,” he said. He announced that the protest march will now take place today at 12h00, starting from the front gates of Legare Stadium to the Gobabis Municipality offices in town.
The chairperson urged club players, supporters and sympathisers to participate in the demonstration against the municipality. Ngarizemo previously informed this publication that the team was behind in its preparations for the upcoming Premier League season, which is set to begin on 2 November.
He expressed concern that the team is struggling with preparations, as the current circumstances had compelled them to train in an unsuitable environment that poses risks to player safety.
The municipality’s spokesperson Frederick Takulu Ueitele said the reason for the stadium’s closure was due to the excessive use of the pitches. “This decision was taken as a long-term solution. It was taken for the benefit of the users and community of Omaheke at large in the long run,” he emphasised.
Ueitele further said the responsibility for evaluating the fields to ensure they meet the required standards lies with the Namibia Football Association (NFA) rather than the municipality.
“We don’t have to be blamed on this matter. Our role is to make sure the stadium is brought up to standard,” he said.
He said new grass was recently planted in field B, making it unsuitable for use at this time. Nevertheless, Ngarizemo believes the team should be granted access to field B to facilitate their development.
Ueitele added that the municipality had provided an alternative training ground for Young African, which the club declined.
“That is an insult, and I will not take that at all. I would rather sell the status of Namibia Premier Football League and move on; what joke is that” Ngarizemo responded.
The chairperson said the municipality misrepresented its actions regarding field B, asserting that no grass seeds were planted there and that only partial development had occurred at field A.
Ngarizemo further criticised the regional leadership and local authorities for failing to recognise the significance of the Premier League status. He said while the region is recognised as a sports hub, it suffers from a deficiency of facilities.
Young African incur a cost of N$12 000 for each trip to Windhoek, which is the closest location to Gobabis.
“This will drain the already hard-earned revenue of our club,” he added.
Regarding the involvement of the NFA in this issue, Ngarizemo remarked: “If the NFA does not support the national team, how can they provide assistance to the club?”
Nevertheless, he acknowledged the contributions made by Omaheke regional governor Pijoo Nganate and chief regional officer Peka Semba in this matter.
“I have to compliment them for their efforts, despite those falling on deaf ears,” said the chairperson.
-zngaruka@yahoo.com