Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Debmarine Namibian Premiership continues this weekend amid a lack of venues, while the poaching of youth players by Premier League clubs has now burst into the open.
The highlight on the local football calendar, the traditional Katutura derby between Black Africa and Orlando Pirates, was due to take place at SKW Stadium on Sunday, but Namibia Premier Football League (NPFL) spokesperson Cassius Moetie yesterday confirmed it had been postponed indefinitely.
“SKW initially made the facility available for the match, but after we released the fixtures they reconsidered and realised they still need to do some work to the facility, so now the SKW stadium will only be available next year,” he said.
“We must now find another venue for the match which has now been postponed indefinitely. The unavailability of soccer fields is a real challenge, it impacts on the fixtures and makes our job quite difficult,” Moetie said.
Some youth academies and first division teams, meanwhile, have cried foul, after several players were snapped up by Premier League clubs without compensation.
This follows an email from the Namibia Football Association (NFA) to Premier League clubs at the beginning of the season, saying transfer fees would not be applicable since there has been no football for the past three seasons, and that players were now free agents.
Youth academies, however, feel hard done by since their football leagues continued unabated over the past few years, while they feel they need to be compensated for the investment in their players.
A WhatsApp message by an unnamed representative of a youth academy yesterday did the rounds in which he lamented the situation.
ANGER
“We, the youth coaches, are angry. How can the NFA say all players are free because there was no football for five years, but for five years we were playing youth leagues across the country? If a player was 13 before soccer was stopped, that player is now 18. We played all those years, so now the youth coaches are losing out,” he said.
A source from a first division club said although transfer fees may have been scrapped, the clubs were still owed developmental fees, as stipulated by Fifa in an email sent to the NFA.
This in turn was sent to first division clubs that queried the rules regarding compensation for youth players.
“A player’s training and education takes place between the ages of 12 and 21. Subject to these rules, training compensation will be payable in respect of the first registration of a professional player for any registration or transfer occurring up to the age of 23,” it stipulates.
“In cases of transfers between Namibian clubs, the registering club will pay the training clubs the amount due as compensation for training and education within 30 days of registering the player.
“Any failure to comply with this obligation will constitute misconduct,” it says.
Regarding tariffs, the email states that first division clubs must be paid N$25 000 per player per year as compensation for education and training.
With most of the poached players having been with their first division clubs for four years or longer, that already amounts to at least N$100 000 per player, and with Ramblers alone having had about 10 players poached, their compensation would amount to more than N$1 million.
Ramblers’ chairperson Sedric van Turah yesterday said he had drafted a response to queries sent and was awaiting confirmation from his executive committee.
He, however, said they would engage with the NPFL and were hopeful of finding an amicable solution to the problem.
Orlando Pirates, meanwhile, continued their recent revival with a 2-0 victory against Young African at Khomasdal Stadium on Wednesday night.
Leftback Brandon Neibeb scored both goals from set pieces in the first half, scrambling in the first from a corner and the second with a long-range shot from a free kick.
The win took Pirates up to fifth place on the log on nine points – just two points behind log leaders Blue Waters, and coach Woody Jacobs was relieved with the win.
“It was a tough encounter. Young African played really well, and it was a high tempo match, so we are happy to have three points under the belt. I am happy with our log position, but it’s a work in progress, and I feel we can do much better still,” he said.
This weekend, log leaders Blue Waters will travel south to take on Young Brazilians at Karasburg tomorrow, while second-placed Julinho Sporting have two home games at Rundu against Okahandja United and Mighty Gunners.
The highlight on the local football calendar, the traditional Katutura derby between Black Africa and Orlando Pirates, was due to take place at SKW Stadium on Sunday, but Namibia Premier Football League (NPFL) spokesperson Cassius Moetie yesterday confirmed it had been postponed indefinitely.
“SKW initially made the facility available for the match, but after we released the fixtures they reconsidered and realised they still need to do some work to the facility, so now the SKW stadium will only be available next year,” he said.
“We must now find another venue for the match which has now been postponed indefinitely. The unavailability of soccer fields is a real challenge, it impacts on the fixtures and makes our job quite difficult,” Moetie said.
Some youth academies and first division teams, meanwhile, have cried foul, after several players were snapped up by Premier League clubs without compensation.
This follows an email from the Namibia Football Association (NFA) to Premier League clubs at the beginning of the season, saying transfer fees would not be applicable since there has been no football for the past three seasons, and that players were now free agents.
Youth academies, however, feel hard done by since their football leagues continued unabated over the past few years, while they feel they need to be compensated for the investment in their players.
A WhatsApp message by an unnamed representative of a youth academy yesterday did the rounds in which he lamented the situation.
ANGER
“We, the youth coaches, are angry. How can the NFA say all players are free because there was no football for five years, but for five years we were playing youth leagues across the country? If a player was 13 before soccer was stopped, that player is now 18. We played all those years, so now the youth coaches are losing out,” he said.
A source from a first division club said although transfer fees may have been scrapped, the clubs were still owed developmental fees, as stipulated by Fifa in an email sent to the NFA.
This in turn was sent to first division clubs that queried the rules regarding compensation for youth players.
“A player’s training and education takes place between the ages of 12 and 21. Subject to these rules, training compensation will be payable in respect of the first registration of a professional player for any registration or transfer occurring up to the age of 23,” it stipulates.
“In cases of transfers between Namibian clubs, the registering club will pay the training clubs the amount due as compensation for training and education within 30 days of registering the player.
“Any failure to comply with this obligation will constitute misconduct,” it says.
Regarding tariffs, the email states that first division clubs must be paid N$25 000 per player per year as compensation for education and training.
With most of the poached players having been with their first division clubs for four years or longer, that already amounts to at least N$100 000 per player, and with Ramblers alone having had about 10 players poached, their compensation would amount to more than N$1 million.
Ramblers’ chairperson Sedric van Turah yesterday said he had drafted a response to queries sent and was awaiting confirmation from his executive committee.
He, however, said they would engage with the NPFL and were hopeful of finding an amicable solution to the problem.
Orlando Pirates, meanwhile, continued their recent revival with a 2-0 victory against Young African at Khomasdal Stadium on Wednesday night.
Leftback Brandon Neibeb scored both goals from set pieces in the first half, scrambling in the first from a corner and the second with a long-range shot from a free kick.
The win took Pirates up to fifth place on the log on nine points – just two points behind log leaders Blue Waters, and coach Woody Jacobs was relieved with the win.
“It was a tough encounter. Young African played really well, and it was a high tempo match, so we are happy to have three points under the belt. I am happy with our log position, but it’s a work in progress, and I feel we can do much better still,” he said.
This weekend, log leaders Blue Waters will travel south to take on Young Brazilians at Karasburg tomorrow, while second-placed Julinho Sporting have two home games at Rundu against Okahandja United and Mighty Gunners.
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
