Africa-Press – Namibia. DOMESTIC football will finally return next weekend after Debmarine Namibia yesterday announced a N$13 million sponsorship for the 2022/23 Debmarine Namibian Premiership.
After an absence of more than three years, during which protracted boardroom wrangles and court battles dominated the headlines, football will now finally return and Debmarine Namibia’s CEO Otto Shikongo admitted that they had their reservations.
“Given the tumultuous past seasons and internal issues that we have seen played out in the media and the public domain, it is not without reservations that we stand here today. Therefore, it is our sincere hope that the association remains united for the benefits of this trial sponsorship and for the masses. We also encourage other corporate sponsors to come to the party – the success of sport in our country can only be achieved when we work together as a collective, with a common goal,” he said.
Shikongo said they were particularly concerned about opportunities for the youth of Namibia, and spent more than N$100 million per year on training and development opportunities for young Namibians.
“Our agreement with the NFA is just one such illustration of the efforts we are making to be responsive to the challenges facing our country. We have observed that specifically the Premier League has not played competitive football on more than three years,” he said.
The chairperson of the Fifa normalisation committee of the NFA, Bisey Uirab thanked Debmarine for their investment.
“We are excited and thrilled that despite the brand damage and harm inflicted to the image of the NFA, Debmarine Namibia still believes in the product of football and the thousands of young boys and girls, who suffered most at the long impasse of the past years.”
Uirab called on all football’s stakeholders to unite and work together for the good of football.
“We are all aware that the past has challenged our sport tremendously, it is our collective duty to pull in one singular direction, and that is forward. Understanding that the path may not aways be easy, but it is a path worth treading for the positive outcomes and common good for all involved. These far outweigh what has divided the football fraternity for too long.”
Uirab said the league will be administered and run by the NFA.
“The association model – the model adopted for the NPFL (Namibia Professional Football League), exists within the football association and is in fact entirely managed by the association. The league does not have its own statutes, and is not governed by a specific board or executive committee. Its administration falls within the administration of the NFA and is fully governed by it,” he said.
“For the immediate future, the NFA will continue to manage the NPFL, whilst crafting a roadmap towards professionalisation in the medium-term. Thus it is anticipated that the league will transition into a self-managed model,” he added.
Uirab said the aim was that the league will transition into a professional entity.
“Going forward, it is the deliberate intention of the NFA to transform
the NPFL to become a self-management and professional league in the mid-to-long term, three-to-five years from now. In fact, the process has begun in earnest with the support of the Fifa Professionalisation Department and others. The first workshop was held during the month of September and was facilitated by Uefa and attended by all the top tier league clubs.”
The executive director in the ministry of sport, youth and national service, Erastus Haitengela thanked Debmarine for their investment as well as the normalisation committee for it leadership.
“I would like to, express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Fifa normalization committee of NFA under the able leadership of Bisey Uirab as well as the premier league teams for finding a way to bring football back,” he said.
“In the same vein, our collective gratitude and appreciation is equally extended to the new corporate sponsor for going that extra mile in finding the resources to fund and rescue football at a time when the good name of our beloved sport code – football, was tarnished by the past unfortunate events,” he added.
Haitengela also called on the NFA leadership to further engage other corporate entities to ensure that the lower leagues, including the nationwide first divisions, the regional second divisions and women’s football also secured similar sponsorships to further develop football at grassroots level.
Uirab, meanwhile, said that a press conference will be held next week to shed more light on the sponsorship and the start of the DNP which is scheduled to kick off next weekend.
After an absence of more than three years, during which protracted boardroom wrangles and court battles dominated the headlines, football will now finally return and Debmarine Namibia’s CEO Otto Shikongo admitted that they had their reservations.
“Given the tumultuous past seasons and internal issues that we have seen played out in the media and the public domain, it is not without reservations that we stand here today. Therefore, it is our sincere hope that the association remains united for the benefits of this trial sponsorship and for the masses. We also encourage other corporate sponsors to come to the party – the success of sport in our country can only be achieved when we work together as a collective, with a common goal,” he said.
Shikongo said they were particularly concerned about opportunities for the youth of Namibia, and spent more than N$100 million per year on training and development opportunities for young Namibians.
“Our agreement with the NFA is just one such illustration of the efforts we are making to be responsive to the challenges facing our country. We have observed that specifically the Premier League has not played competitive football on more than three years,” he said.
The chairperson of the Fifa normalisation committee of the NFA, Bisey Uirab thanked Debmarine for their investment.
“We are excited and thrilled that despite the brand damage and harm inflicted to the image of the NFA, Debmarine Namibia still believes in the product of football and the thousands of young boys and girls, who suffered most at the long impasse of the past years.”
Uirab called on all football’s stakeholders to unite and work together for the good of football.
“We are all aware that the past has challenged our sport tremendously, it is our collective duty to pull in one singular direction, and that is forward. Understanding that the path may not aways be easy, but it is a path worth treading for the positive outcomes and common good for all involved. These far outweigh what has divided the football fraternity for too long.”
Uirab said the league will be administered and run by the NFA.
“The association model – the model adopted for the NPFL (Namibia Professional Football League), exists within the football association and is in fact entirely managed by the association. The league does not have its own statutes, and is not governed by a specific board or executive committee. Its administration falls within the administration of the NFA and is fully governed by it,” he said.
“For the immediate future, the NFA will continue to manage the NPFL, whilst crafting a roadmap towards professionalisation in the medium-term. Thus it is anticipated that the league will transition into a self-managed model,” he added.
Uirab said the aim was that the league will transition into a professional entity.
“Going forward, it is the deliberate intention of the NFA to transform
the NPFL to become a self-management and professional league in the mid-to-long term, three-to-five years from now. In fact, the process has begun in earnest with the support of the Fifa Professionalisation Department and others. The first workshop was held during the month of September and was facilitated by Uefa and attended by all the top tier league clubs.”
The executive director in the ministry of sport, youth and national service, Erastus Haitengela thanked Debmarine for their investment as well as the normalisation committee for it leadership.
“I would like to, express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Fifa normalization committee of NFA under the able leadership of Bisey Uirab as well as the premier league teams for finding a way to bring football back,” he said.
“In the same vein, our collective gratitude and appreciation is equally extended to the new corporate sponsor for going that extra mile in finding the resources to fund and rescue football at a time when the good name of our beloved sport code – football, was tarnished by the past unfortunate events,” he added.
Haitengela also called on the NFA leadership to further engage other corporate entities to ensure that the lower leagues, including the nationwide first divisions, the regional second divisions and women’s football also secured similar sponsorships to further develop football at grassroots level.
Uirab, meanwhile, said that a press conference will be held next week to shed more light on the sponsorship and the start of the DNP which is scheduled to kick off next weekend.
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