Africa-Press – Namibia. THE exiled Namibia Premier League has requested Fifa to be included in roundtable discussions to find a remedy for Namibian football administration.
In conjunction with the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the world football governing body will hold ‘a stakeholder engagement to assess the overall situation of the NFA following the chronicles of the past few months’ in Windhoek from 12 to 15 January.
The NPL lost its NFA membership rights following its expulsion ‘for bringing football into disrepute’ at the 16th NFA extraordinary congress on 18 July 2020. The NPL accepted the decision in July 2020.
Since then the NPL acquired a licence to run professional football in the country from the Namibia Sports Commission. It is now looking for a way back into Fifa structures.
“ … we humbly write for your consideration and invitation of the NPL to meet with the Fifa-Caf delegation,” NPL chairman Patrick Kauta wrote to Fifa chief member associations officer Kenny Jen-Marie on Friday.
The NPL is at an advanced stage to commence with professional football in Namibia, Kauta said. Kauta also claims that he was in advanced talks over a ceasefire with one-time sworn enemy Ranga Haikali before his dismissal as NFA president in December. Haikali’s termination was a calculated move “to halt progress”, Kauta said.
“The NPL leadership after registration with the NSC met the NFA president to address issues of mutual concern in the best interest of Namibian football. The discussions centred around two pillars, namely co-operation and subscription of clubs to the national first division. This would have solved the NFA governance issues. The discussions were fruitful.”
It is hoped that the three-day Fifa-CAF intervention will yield tangible results with regard to reviving the game domestically by uniting the warring factions.
The last CAF/Fifa-sanctioned mission to Namibia in November last year, headed by CAF secretary general Veron Mosengo Omba, had little effect on the prevailing power struggle within the NFA.
Given how long it took Fifa to organise a follow-up mission, it is also likely that the resumption of the dormant football leagues will be delayed further.
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