NPL secures 'bronze' sponsor

Namibia Premier League (NPL) chairman Johnny Johnson Doeseb yesterday announced that the league had taken its first step towards securing funding for its activities.Doeseb said Groot Systems had agreed to sponsor N$3 million per season over three years as part of the NPL’s ‘bronze package’.According to the chairman, the NPL has four categories of sponsorship - platinum, gold, silver and bronze.Platinum status would be afforded to a company that can sponsor the N$24 million needed for the league to start.A company that sponsors N$15 million would get a gold rating while a N$5 million sponsorship gives the funder a silver package.These packages include various branding benefits at league matches, distribution of flyers and promotional materials as well as mileage at NPL events such as their year-end function and season awards.All contracts would have to be on a three-year basis.NPL spokesperson Cassius Moetie yesterday hailed Groot Systems’ sponsorship as a “breakthrough”.“We want to announce that we have successfully won the trust of one company because we know it is not easy to raise N$24 million,” he said before admitting that the contract would only be finalised early next week.“We felt it was good to announce ahead of the signing because this might entice other companies to follow suit. This is a breakthrough and good news,” Moetie insisted.Doeseb, for his part, said this was part of the NPL’s efforts to normalise the situation in football, which at present is “abnormal”.“We appreciate every little step in playing our roles responsibly to make sure the situation in football, which is abnormal, normalises.“We approached 37 corporate companies while 35 never responded. So we need to be thankful to Groot Systems because they believe in the brand of football,” he said.The businessman added that they also have a proposal from the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) on the table.“But I will not discuss this proposal at present,” he said.More questionsBut while the NPL hierarchy was eager to paint the news as good, football pundits and fans alike were left wondering when the league would start.Doeseb could not provide an answer to that and rather deflected by stating that now that they have N$3million for the season, it would only be a matter of time before funding for the rest of the budget is found.“We cannot start the league with N$3 million. We are looking for N$21 million [more].”When asked what the NPL would do should they collect more than the N$24 million required, the chairman said the idea of a consortium of sponsors would then be touted.He added that a date for the start of the league would only be announced once all partners had come on board.HECTOR MAWONGA

NPL secures 'bronze' sponsor

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-28

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NPL secures 'bronze' sponsor

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-28

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