League to remain under NFA

A meeting held in the capital last weekend was dominated by the football clubs that want to remain under the leadership of the Nambian Football Association (NFA), Sport Wrap has learned.

The hopes of some clubs that wanted the premiership to be run autonomous next season were allegedly dashed.

Sources who attended the meeting – aimed at discussing and paving the way forward for the premiership – said the majority of clubs opted to remain under the NFA for at least one more season.

“I think what I can confirm now is that the league will remain under the leadership of the Football Association for next season.

“There were those that wanted the premiership to become independent sooner, but the majority of the clubs felt it would be too soon to leave the association,” the source said.

The calls to run the league autonomous have been on going for a while now, which have resulted in several meetings.

Football clubs have long been divided on the matter of remaining under the NFA leadership.

The NFA and the clubs had initially agreed that by the commencement of the 2025-2026 season, the league would become an autonomous entity with its own governance structure, in line with the NFA Statutes.

This was due to the request of the league sponsor Debmarine Namibia, who demanded that the league becomes independent before they can consider extending their contract which lapsed at the end of last season.

Some clubs remain adamant that playing under the full administration of the NFA is not a viable option, and continue to call for the Namibia Premier Football League (NPFL) to set up a Board of Governors (BoG) as was previously the case.

The clubs have cited shortcomings, specifically the fact that the league is currently administered by a single individual. They also argue that most members of the NFA executive do not own clubs and are therefore considered to have limited interest in the well-being of football teams.

These clubs have however often been outnumbered by those who prefer to be under the NFA rule.

“I believe that the football clubs at the end came to an amicable agreement, which was to remain under the NFA for now.

“What I understand however is that the league next season will probably have its own executive.

“As things stand, the premiership remains the only football structure that does not have an executive.

“I also believe those clubs that wanted the league to become autonomous will not push for it further due to the collective agreement on Saturday,” the source said.

Speaking to Sport Wrap under condition of anonymity, one member who has been in support of making the league independent said he was not completely happy, but will accept the decision.

“I would say the rules and constitution will speak for themselves once they are incorporated with the current statutes.

“That will be the time when people will realise that we just can’t play under the NFA (anymore).

“All in all, I would not say that the meeting was completely bad for us and we know that soon there will be no option left but to have the league autonomous,” he said.

It remains to be seen if the sponsors will agree with the decisions made at the meeting.

The Namibia Football Association yesterday did not comment on the meeting at the time of going to print.

Indications were that an NFA press release would be issued to the football fraternity regarding the matter.