We did not interfere in NFA - Erastus Utoni
Namibian football is between a rock and a hard place, given the controversial dismantling of the NFA executive in December last year.
Sports minister Erastus Uutoni says the ministry has not taken sides in the battle between former Namibia Football Association (NFA) president Frans Mbidi and former secretary-general Barry Rukoro.
Addressing a media conference in Oshakati on Friday, Uutoni said his ministry is fully aware that government should not interfere in the affairs of football, as stipulated by Fifa.
Uutoni said Fifa wrote to his office and the NFA last week, to inform them that the Fifa Council bureau had taken the decision to set up a normalisation committee for the NFA.
The minister did not explain why he called the urgent media conference, saying only that his ministry had tried to advise the NFA leadership, based on a Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) investigation after the NFA executive dismissed Mbidi as president.
“On the 6 November last year, I convened a press conference in Windhoek where I made it clear that the position of the sports ministry with regard to the NFA executive's term of office is that under no circumstance did the ministry side either with Rukoro or Mbidi,” Uutoni said.
“As a custodian ministry we cannot just sit and wait for Fifa to solve the NFA infighting. I have to come in and advise and that advice does not mean I have interfered with football affairs.”
Uutoni said Fifa has not revealed to them the names of the normalisation committee members, because the process of appointing this committee will only take place after Fifa and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) visit Namibia during the coming weeks.
“Until such time, let us not speculate or pre-empt this important process for the benefit of our football.
“I once again wish to categorically state that during this entire process, we as the government collaborated with Fifa as a partner in developing sport in Namibia,” he said.
ILENI NANDJATO
Addressing a media conference in Oshakati on Friday, Uutoni said his ministry is fully aware that government should not interfere in the affairs of football, as stipulated by Fifa.
Uutoni said Fifa wrote to his office and the NFA last week, to inform them that the Fifa Council bureau had taken the decision to set up a normalisation committee for the NFA.
The minister did not explain why he called the urgent media conference, saying only that his ministry had tried to advise the NFA leadership, based on a Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) investigation after the NFA executive dismissed Mbidi as president.
“On the 6 November last year, I convened a press conference in Windhoek where I made it clear that the position of the sports ministry with regard to the NFA executive's term of office is that under no circumstance did the ministry side either with Rukoro or Mbidi,” Uutoni said.
“As a custodian ministry we cannot just sit and wait for Fifa to solve the NFA infighting. I have to come in and advise and that advice does not mean I have interfered with football affairs.”
Uutoni said Fifa has not revealed to them the names of the normalisation committee members, because the process of appointing this committee will only take place after Fifa and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) visit Namibia during the coming weeks.
“Until such time, let us not speculate or pre-empt this important process for the benefit of our football.
“I once again wish to categorically state that during this entire process, we as the government collaborated with Fifa as a partner in developing sport in Namibia,” he said.
ILENI NANDJATO
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article