Pay us, pleads Jacobs
Brave Warriors interim assistant coach Woody Jacobs said they have yet to be
LIMBA MUPETAMI
WINDHOEK
Outspoken Woody Jacobs, Brave Warriors' interim assistant coach, said attempts to get money owed to them have fallen on deaf ears.
He has resorted to pleading with newly appointed sports minister Agnes Tjongarero, her deputy Emma Kantema-Gaomas and Joel Matheus from the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) to come to the fore to fight for unpaid players.
These players, he said, form part of the national senior men's football side, the senior women's side – the Brave Gladiators – as well as the under-20 women's football side.
'We have outstanding payments from competitions and are making calls to have that money paid.
“The lockdown [is] making life for these players unbearable,' he said.
'Life as we know it has been thrown into despair and the scramble to preserve life of mankind is now,' Jacobs added.
Dire times
He further said the money will now come in handy as the coronavirus has put sport on the back burner and has robbed players of their livelihood.
'How can we keep to these regulations of the lockdown when you have nothing to stay home for? How do we keep our hands and those of our families clean when we have nothing? How do we keep social distancing when we can no longer afford to rent because of non-payment?' asked a distraught Jacobs. Appointed last July alongside interim coach Bobby Samaria, Jacobs said money woes in the sport sector have been well documented in the media.
'Some may ask why I'm talking for others but I thought if not me, who will talk for those afraid to be victims? I have no such fear and seek no favour,' he said.
At risk to corona
He emphasised that the national teams players as well the entire Namibia Premier League, male and female, have no hand sanitiser and other protective clothing to combat the spread of the coronavirus, and continue to squat in overcrowded homes, unable to adhere to lockdown regulations.
'Now is the time that all of us take hands, put all our differences aside and show that Namibian mentality and why we are called the land of the brave and why we sing about the blood that watered our freedom.Let's stand in solidarity to defeat this disease,' Jacobs said.
A senior Brave Warriors player, who chose to remain anonymous, confirmed the non-payment, saying the players keep quiet about a lot of things but should at least be paid their money, which they earned playing for the country.
WINDHOEK
Outspoken Woody Jacobs, Brave Warriors' interim assistant coach, said attempts to get money owed to them have fallen on deaf ears.
He has resorted to pleading with newly appointed sports minister Agnes Tjongarero, her deputy Emma Kantema-Gaomas and Joel Matheus from the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) to come to the fore to fight for unpaid players.
These players, he said, form part of the national senior men's football side, the senior women's side – the Brave Gladiators – as well as the under-20 women's football side.
'We have outstanding payments from competitions and are making calls to have that money paid.
“The lockdown [is] making life for these players unbearable,' he said.
'Life as we know it has been thrown into despair and the scramble to preserve life of mankind is now,' Jacobs added.
Dire times
He further said the money will now come in handy as the coronavirus has put sport on the back burner and has robbed players of their livelihood.
'How can we keep to these regulations of the lockdown when you have nothing to stay home for? How do we keep our hands and those of our families clean when we have nothing? How do we keep social distancing when we can no longer afford to rent because of non-payment?' asked a distraught Jacobs. Appointed last July alongside interim coach Bobby Samaria, Jacobs said money woes in the sport sector have been well documented in the media.
'Some may ask why I'm talking for others but I thought if not me, who will talk for those afraid to be victims? I have no such fear and seek no favour,' he said.
At risk to corona
He emphasised that the national teams players as well the entire Namibia Premier League, male and female, have no hand sanitiser and other protective clothing to combat the spread of the coronavirus, and continue to squat in overcrowded homes, unable to adhere to lockdown regulations.
'Now is the time that all of us take hands, put all our differences aside and show that Namibian mentality and why we are called the land of the brave and why we sing about the blood that watered our freedom.Let's stand in solidarity to defeat this disease,' Jacobs said.
A senior Brave Warriors player, who chose to remain anonymous, confirmed the non-payment, saying the players keep quiet about a lot of things but should at least be paid their money, which they earned playing for the country.
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