NFA addressing sister clubs in one league 

The days of football clubs with shared ownership competing in the league are numbered, if the Namibia Football Association (NFA) has its way.

This is what NFA executive council president Robert Shimooshili said in a recent interview with Desert Radio.

Sister clubs have long been allowed to operate in the same division, however, the practice will be done away with in the 2024/25 season, he said.

In 2018, the NFA had to deal with such a conundrum when Okahandja Military Football Club (FC) edged African Motto FC from Oshakati in the playoffs, to be promoted to the defunct Namibia Premier League (NPL).

Namibian Defence Force club Mighty Gunners also campaigned in the elite league.

In the end, Okahandja Military was sold to former Namibian international Johannes ‘Congo’ Hindjou and renamed Okahandja United in order to be allowed to retain its premier league status.

Now, the issue has once again flared up, with questions regarding the ownership status of Namibia Football Premier League newcomers Namibian Correctional Services (NSC) and Khomas Nampol FC, who finished runners-up in the top flight in May.

Both teams reside under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security’s umbrella and both were in the Southern Stream First Division together before Nampol got promoted last year.

“On the issue of teams owned by the same person or entity, the laws, rules and regulations of the association are very clear on that,” Shimooshili said.

“We have observed an inconsistency or imbalance and we talked about that but we did not do much in addressing the problem.”

The NFA boss acknowledged that not much has been done to address the problem at lower league level, which in turn results in the teams getting stuck when they reach the top tier league.

“They are not allowed to participate in the same competition. If they are owned by the same person. Those are the things that the association will make clear and that will never happen come 2024/25 football season,” Shimooshili said.

SEASON END

Meanwhile, Shimooshili said that the NFA will host an awards ceremony once all football leagues in the country have concluded their programmes.

“Yes, we do at this moment have regional football leagues still active and the awards will take place before the commencement of the 2024/25 football season,” he said.

He added that the NFA executive council will be informed by the various football leagues which teams are relegated and promoted, as well as on the format of the playoffs.

“We need to understand the rules and laws of the association and those of the International Federation of Football Association and the Confederation of African Football,” said Shimooshili.

“When the league concludes it does not mean the winner is automatically promoted simply because the very same leadership of that league, in this case the first division, has to inform the football mother body.”