Ramblers go with Kingsley

RAMBLERS Football Club stands on the brink of landing a handsome sponsorship deal with Kingsley, a soft-drinks company, provided they win the league title and the MTC NFA Cup later this year.

Ramblers club chairman Harald Hecht and the sponsors, represented by Kingsley managing director Damien Bekker, did not reveal any figure or timeframe for the sponsorship, only saying that it would be one of the biggest in Namibian club football. “The amount is confidential at this stage.It will probably be better than any sponsorship yet,” said Hecht.He said the finer details of the sponsorship were still being dealt with, but the two parties are satisfied with the deal which will see Ramblers becoming a full-fledged professional entity by next season.The deal will be sealed at the end of the season provided Ramblers win the championship and the MTC NFA Cup, said Bekker in his brief statement.Hecht said Namibian players on club and national level should get longer-term contracts instead of the current situation where players are only compensated for one-off performances.He urged that the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC) should be more flexible in allowing the clubs to financially sustain themselves by opening up their agreement to allow more companies to come on board to enhance the development of the game through monetary injection.At the moment, the NFC has a binding agreement with the Namibia Football Association, which allows it to have sole control of the financial sustainability of football on club, national and developmental level.The deal makes it difficult for clubs to acquire sponsorship deals with companies that might have conflicting products with those of the consortium.Hecht says this is hampering the clubs from sustaining themselves financially as they are not allowed to get sponsorships from opposing companies that have the same products as the consortium.The NFC consists of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), First National Bank of Namibia (FNB) and the Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) and has a N$45 million sponsorship deal which stretches over five years with the NFA.Hecht said he was concerned about the future financial stability of the clubs, as most are currently sitting without sponsors, mainly because some willing companies and corporate entities that want to make deals with the clubs are in opposition to the NFC.He said although Kingsley makes the same type of soft drinks as NBL, they are complementing each other and he does not see a conflict.Hecht added that the deal would also enable the club to compete at the continental championships, while the women’s side and the development side at the club will also be covered.”Our mission is to be the top football club in Namibia after having successfully paved the way towards full professionalism.We encourage other clubs to follow suit and the NFA consortium to allow other companies to also support Namibian football,” he said.”The reality is that professionalism can only come via increased direct sponsorships and not through revenue from gate takings or merchandising.We need a fully professional league and clubs need to implement control and transparency mechanisms to entrust the confidence of the sponsors,” he said.Meanwhile, Ramblers president Manuel Coelho says the sponsorship is a dream come true for the club and would make it one of the strongest, if not the biggest clubs in the country.At the same occasion, Namibia Health Plan (NHP), which is the official medical aid provider of the club, also provided the club’s number one supporter, Robbie Savage, with a medical aid card.NFA acting secretary general Barry Rukoro and Namibia Premier League boss Peter van Wyk both welcomed the sponsorship.”The amount is confidential at this stage.It will probably be better than any sponsorship yet,” said Hecht. He said the finer details of the sponsorship were still being dealt with, but the two parties are satisfied with the deal which will see Ramblers becoming a full-fledged professional entity by next season.The deal will be sealed at the end of the season provided Ramblers win the championship and the MTC NFA Cup, said Bekker in his brief statement.Hecht said Namibian players on club and national level should get longer-term contracts instead of the current situation where players are only compensated for one-off performances.He urged that the Namibia Football Consortium (NFC) should be more flexible in allowing the clubs to financially sustain themselves by opening up their agreement to allow more companies to come on board to enhance the development of the game through monetary injection.At the moment, the NFC has a binding agreement with the Namibia Football Association, which allows it to have sole control of the financial sustainability of football on club, national and developmental level.The deal makes it difficult for clubs to acquire sponsorship deals with companies that might have conflicting products with those of the consortium.Hecht says this is hampering the clubs from sustaining themselves financially as they are not allowed to get sponsorships from opposing companies that have the same products as the consortium.The NFC consists of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), First National Bank of Namibia (FNB) and the Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) and has a N$45 million sponsorship deal which stretches over five years with the NFA.Hecht said he was concerned about the future financial stability of the clubs, as most are currently sitting without sponsors, mainly because some willing companies and corporate entities that want to make deals with the clubs are in opposition to the NFC.He said although Kingsley makes the same type of soft drinks as NBL, they are complementing each other and he does not see a conflict.Hecht added that the deal would also enable the club to compete at the continental championships, while the women’s side and the development side at the club will also be covered.”Our mission is to be the top football club in Namibia after having successfully paved the way towards full professionalism.We encourage other clubs to follow suit and the NFA consortium to allow other companies to also support Namibian football,” he said.”The reality is that professionalism can only come via increased direct sponsorships and not through revenue from gate takings or merchandising.We need a fully professional league and clubs need to implement control and transparency mechanisms to entrust the confidence of the sponsors,” he said.Meanwhile, Ramblers president Manuel Coelho says the sponsorship is a dream come true for the club and would make it one of the strongest, if not the biggest clubs in the country.At the same occasion, Namibia Health Plan (NHP), which is the official medical aid provider of the club, also provided the club’s number one supporter, Robbie Savage, with a medical aid card.NFA acting secretary general Barry Rukoro and Namibia Premier League boss Peter van Wyk both welcomed the sponsorship.