NPL clubs ready to join hands
It appears as if plans to dissolve the Namibia Premier League (NPL) will not come to fruition after the NFA made a U-turn on some of its earlier decisions.
Several clubs in the Namibia Premier League (NPL) have indicated that they are willing to work together in order to elect a new leadership.
This is after the Namibia Football Association (NFA) issued a letter to the clubs last week Tuesday, instructing them to resolve the league issues.
The letter stated that the ad-hoc committee would be dissolved, leaving the power to elect new leaders in the hands of the 16 NPL clubs.
The NFA further instructed the NPL board of governors to set up a meeting no later than 15 July.
It also expected the board to adopt a new constitution no later than 19 August.
The clubs were instructed to elect a substantive leadership no later than 9 September.
In April, the NFA replaced the NPL interim committee with an ad-hoc committee.
The ad-hoc committee was tasked to oversee negotiations between the NPL and potential sponsors.
The NFA's decision sparked anger among some of the clubs in the premier league.
Some clubs decided that they were going to break away from the league in order to start a professional league. African Stars, Tigers, Orlando Pirates, Blue Waters, Citizens FC and Black Africa led the chorus calling for the league to be dissolved. With the new developments happening at Football House, some of the clubs have welcomed the NFA's latest decision to put power back in the hands of the board of governors.
NPL 2015/16 champions Tigers FC became the first club to voice their views about the decision.
Spokesperson Hafeni Hiveluah said: “We definitely want the situation to be resolved.
“It is a good thing that the NFA realised that they made a mistake in appointing the ad-hoc committee.”
“At the end of the day, the players have been suffering and we are therefore ready to work with all 16 clubs in order to make things work,” he said.
After the letter was issued to the clubs on Tuesday, Blue Waters FC last week held a meeting to discuss the way forward.
Namibian Sun understands that the club continues to blame the NFA for removing the interim committee in the first place.
The club feels that starting a professional league is still the way forward for Namibian football.
“Yes, we are ready to work together with all the 16 clubs in order for football to start.
“That was our decision before until the NFA decided to rule out the interim committee.
“It has just made life difficult for the clubs because at least four clubs will have to call a meeting in order to start the process,” Blue Waters' Robert Shimoshili said.
Shimoshili warned individuals in the NFA not to interfere with league matters again, given the consequences for the players.
“It is time that people shy away from bringing their personal egos into football because it has not been good at all.
“I get very emotional when talking about these things seeing that things could have been fixed already if it was not for some decisions made in April,” he said.
nam FC's spokesperson Evaristus Evaristus said his club's wish was to see the game being played again.
He urged all club owners to unite and adopt a system that would ensure that the beautiful game is played.
“All we need is to play football provided that everything is sorted. We have always been ready to work together with all the clubs,” he said.
JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA
This is after the Namibia Football Association (NFA) issued a letter to the clubs last week Tuesday, instructing them to resolve the league issues.
The letter stated that the ad-hoc committee would be dissolved, leaving the power to elect new leaders in the hands of the 16 NPL clubs.
The NFA further instructed the NPL board of governors to set up a meeting no later than 15 July.
It also expected the board to adopt a new constitution no later than 19 August.
The clubs were instructed to elect a substantive leadership no later than 9 September.
In April, the NFA replaced the NPL interim committee with an ad-hoc committee.
The ad-hoc committee was tasked to oversee negotiations between the NPL and potential sponsors.
The NFA's decision sparked anger among some of the clubs in the premier league.
Some clubs decided that they were going to break away from the league in order to start a professional league. African Stars, Tigers, Orlando Pirates, Blue Waters, Citizens FC and Black Africa led the chorus calling for the league to be dissolved. With the new developments happening at Football House, some of the clubs have welcomed the NFA's latest decision to put power back in the hands of the board of governors.
NPL 2015/16 champions Tigers FC became the first club to voice their views about the decision.
Spokesperson Hafeni Hiveluah said: “We definitely want the situation to be resolved.
“It is a good thing that the NFA realised that they made a mistake in appointing the ad-hoc committee.”
“At the end of the day, the players have been suffering and we are therefore ready to work with all 16 clubs in order to make things work,” he said.
After the letter was issued to the clubs on Tuesday, Blue Waters FC last week held a meeting to discuss the way forward.
Namibian Sun understands that the club continues to blame the NFA for removing the interim committee in the first place.
The club feels that starting a professional league is still the way forward for Namibian football.
“Yes, we are ready to work together with all the 16 clubs in order for football to start.
“That was our decision before until the NFA decided to rule out the interim committee.
“It has just made life difficult for the clubs because at least four clubs will have to call a meeting in order to start the process,” Blue Waters' Robert Shimoshili said.
Shimoshili warned individuals in the NFA not to interfere with league matters again, given the consequences for the players.
“It is time that people shy away from bringing their personal egos into football because it has not been good at all.
“I get very emotional when talking about these things seeing that things could have been fixed already if it was not for some decisions made in April,” he said.
nam FC's spokesperson Evaristus Evaristus said his club's wish was to see the game being played again.
He urged all club owners to unite and adopt a system that would ensure that the beautiful game is played.
“All we need is to play football provided that everything is sorted. We have always been ready to work together with all the clubs,” he said.
JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA
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