Hands off JJD - Ekandjo

MTC executive Tim Ekandjo says calls for the resignation of Namibia Premier League (NPL) chairman Johnny Doeseb are out of line.
Ekandjo said this on Monday while announcing that the telecommunication company had withdrawn its conditional commitment to sponsor the NPL.
MTC had announced in July that it was willing to sponsor the NPL provided the league was able to supplement their intention to provide N$15 million per season, which would amount to N$45 million over three years.
The NPL had tabled a budget of N$24 million per season and thus had a shortfall of N$9 million, which MTC was not prepared to foot.
Having failed to secure this additional funding, MTC withdrew its offer, leaving the local game with the sad reality that elite level football might not take place next season.
This has led to some members of the football fraternity to suggest that Doeseb, who is popularly known as JJD, should step down as the situation developed on his watch.
Ekandjo, though, said that viewpoint is narrow-minded.
“This is not a Doeseb problem and that kind of talk is misplaced,” he said at a press conference held at the Namibia Football Association (NFA) offices on Monday.
“This [turn of events] speaks to a much bigger problem in funding of sports in general. So to put blame on one person is not fair,” he added.
Young African’s owner, Mali Ngarizemo, agreed with Ekandjo.
“I wouldn’t entertain that [Doeseb resigning]… because I think MTC has made it clear that we should not blame the MC (league’s management committee) or the chairman.”
Civics administrator Tim Isaacs shared similar sentiments and warned that seeking scapegoats at this stage would serve no purpose.
“It was a collective thing and one cannot blame him for this outcome. What we need now is the money,” he said.
The NPL has targeted the weekend of 16 September as the start of the league and Doeseb remains optimistic that football will indeed kick off on that date.
“We are positive we’ll pull through,” he said at Monday’s press conference.

HECTOR MAWONGA