Civics to part with Buschschule

TRIPLE Namibia Premier League champions Civics Football Club face an uncertain financial future as their sponsorship deal with Buschschule Namibia comes to an end at the end of May.

Buschschule Namibia, which is headed by Helmuth Scharnowski, who is also the head coach of Civics, pumped millions into the club over the past eight years, which saw the team taking its third successive league title at the weekend. A source told The Namibian Sport at the weekend that the deal with the German-based charity organisation, which identified Civics as one of its projects to fund as part of its humanitarian aid, will come to an end on May 31.When approached for comment yesterday, Civics team manager Paul Stramis confirmed that the deal expires at the end of the month, but said that there were negotiations on either extending it for the next 12 months or signing a whole new deal.Stramis said the sponsors have been paying the club in euros, which catered for the administration of the team, while the bulk of the funds went to players’ salaries.Stramis said Scharnowski, who is currently in Germany recovering from heart surgery, was negotiating with the Buschschule authorities on continuing with the deal.”At this stage we are not certain as to what they are going to say, but for sure talks are ongoing regarding our position with the sponsors for the next season,” he said.The contract signed between the two parties was only meant to cater for the team until the end of the current season.Stramis said there are other possible options that the team is currently looking at domestically, but nothing has been formalised.”We are looking at the local market to sustain the club next season, but we have not yet had any concrete discussions that can confirm our position with anyone in terms of sponsorship,” he said.Stramis was concerned about any possible conflict that might come into play if they clinch a deal with a company that does business similar to the Namibia Breweries Limited, Mobile Telecommunications Limited and First National Bank.The three big financial players have signed a five-year deal with the Namibia Football Association (NFA) as exclusive sponsors of football, barring other companies or organisations through a clause that states that whoever sponsors football may not sell products that are in direct conflict with theirs.The three companies have formed a consortium and are currently pumping N$8 million into the game through the NFA each year for especially the leagues and cup competitions.The consortium committed themselves to a sponsorship of N$40 million over five years, with the discretion of terminating it any time if the recipients do not meet their set conditions.They also have the right to extend the deal when it expires in two years’ time.Other companies have found it difficult to assist football clubs financially because of the consortium’s exclusive contract.Meanwhile, The Namibian Sport has established that the Civics bosses have already made strides in securing a sponsorship deal with Trustco, a holding company of several other subsidiaries which are involved in the media, aviation, insurance, education and the hospitality industry.Trustco is listed on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) and is regarded as one of the biggest corporate entities in the country.* Yesterday The Namibian Sport reported that Stramis also won the league title with Liverpool, but it was in fact their striker William Chilufya.Stramis has won the title with Civics three times and he has been with the club for ten years now.Stramis was also named the team manager of the year by the NFA last season.A source told The Namibian Sport at the weekend that the deal with the German-based charity organisation, which identified Civics as one of its projects to fund as part of its humanitarian aid, will come to an end on May 31.When approached for comment yesterday, Civics team manager Paul Stramis confirmed that the deal expires at the end of the month, but said that there were negotiations on either extending it for the next 12 months or signing a whole new deal.Stramis said the sponsors have been paying the club in euros, which catered for the administration of the team, while the bulk of the funds went to players’ salaries.Stramis said Scharnowski, who is currently in Germany recovering from heart surgery, was negotiating with the Buschschule authorities on continuing with the deal.”At this stage we are not certain as to what they are going to say, but for sure talks are ongoing regarding our position with the sponsors for the next season,” he said.The contract signed between the two parties was only meant to cater for the team until the end of the current season.Stramis said there are other possible options that the team is currently looking at domestically, but nothing has been formalised.”We are looking at the local market to sustain the club next season, but we have not yet had any concrete discussions that can confirm our position with anyone in terms of sponsorship,” he said.Stramis was concerned about any possible conflict that might come into play if they clinch a deal with a company that does business similar to the Namibia Breweries Limited, Mobile Telecommunications Limited and First National Bank.The three big financial players have signed a five-year deal with the Namibia Football Association (NFA) as exclusive sponsors of football, barring other companies or organisations through a clause that states that whoever sponsors football may not sell products that are in direct conflict with theirs.The three companies have formed a consortium and are currently pumping N$8 million into the game through the NFA each year for especially the leagues and cup competitions.The consortium committed themselves to a sponsorship of N$40 million over five years, with the discretion of terminating it any time if the recipients do not meet their set conditions.They also have the right to extend the deal when it expires in two years’ time.Other companies have found it difficult to assist football clubs financially because of the consortium’s exclusive contract.Meanwhile, The Namibian Sport has established that the Civics bosses have already made strides in securing a sponsorship deal with Trustco, a holding company of several other subsidiaries which are involved in the media, aviation, insurance, education and the hospitality industry.Trustco is listed on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) and is regarded as one of the biggest corporate entities in the country.* Yesterday The Namibian Sport reported that Stramis also won the league title with Liverpool, but it was in fact their striker William Chilufya.Stramis has won the title with Civics three times and he has been with the club for ten years now.Stramis was also named the team manager of the year by the NFA last season.