The Brave Warriors will compete in the upcoming TotalEnergies Afcon Ivory Coast 2023 showdown with no salary concerns as they aim to progress beyond the group stages.
Speaking to Desert Radio this week, Namibia Football Association (NFA) vice president Murs Markus said the logistics around players’ salaries have been dealt with, and an agreement was reached before the Brave Warriors boarded the plane to Ghana for their final training camp.
“We have sorted out the issue of players’ salaries, and we are looking at a team focused on the challenge at hand in Ivory Coast.
“We are going to Ivory Coast to compete, and the days of being pushed over are over. We did not qualify by luck, we deserve to be there. During the qualification we beat one of Africa’s powerhouses.
“The government is the main stakeholder and has given us a monetary contribution towards the total budget. We also got financial assistance from PstBet, Debmarine Namibia, Tafel Lager as the main sponsor, and also the qualification contribution from the International Federation of Football Associations (Fifa).”
The NFA vice president said should the Brave Warriors progress through to the final, they would need about N$31 million.
“Our aim is to make it to the second round, and that is really our ultimate objective at the Afcon 2023,” Markus said.
“We need to go all out in the opening match, and more importantly, against our long-time rival South Africa’s Bafana Bafana on 21 January.”
Executive director of sport, youth and national service Mbumba Haitengela told the NBC that the government, through the ministry, has allocated close to N$14 million towards the Brave Warriors’ participation at the upcoming continental football spectacle.
He said the funds will be spent towards the team’s preparation, participation, logistics and incentives for appearing at the continental showdown.
It has, however, not been made public how players are incentivised to put up an exceptional display during the Afcon final in Ivory Coast.
Haitengela said: “We have so far deposited N$4,5 million in the NFA account, and another N$2 million will be deposited this week.”
The executive director said the NFA has asked for an extra N$6 million in case the team progresses beyond the group stages.
The Brave Warriors are likely to get bonuses not disclosed in the event of any victory recorded.
The ‘Land of the Brave’ will open their campaign in Group E against Tunisia on 16 January, with their final match billed against Mali on 24 January.
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