Just when we all thought we could finally retreat to our respective caves and accord the recently appointed Committee of Eminent Persons (CEP) an opportunity to thoroughly investigate and come up with rock-solid recommendations that will help squash the protracted beef between the Namibia Football Association (NFA) and the Namibia Premier League (NPL), out of the blue, this week, eight clubs wrote to the NFA, the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) and to the sports ministry to air their grievances about the appointment of the CEP.

The eight clubs that wrote the letter are Tigers, Blue Waters, Citizens, Mighty Gunners, Julinho Sporting, Young African and both relegated Orlando Pirates and Civics. The capacity in which the eight clubs wrote the letter remains unknown and the constituency from which they wrote the letter is also unknown. Is it under the NPL constituency or NFA constituency? 

Also, on whose behalf are they speaking, is on the NPL or NFA’s behalf? I mean, as far as the public and the media is concerned, all those eight clubs have not publicly resigned as members of the NPL and nor have they been publicly installed as members of any other league structure besides the NPL.
It is high time for these clubs to be reminded of their rightful place and for them to start addressing their grievances through established and recognised structures such as their mother body NPL – not for them to continue acting like they are the blue-eyed boys of the NFA or as if they are holier than everyone else.
It should be noted that the eight clubs are not a football entity of their own, they are just clubs affiliated to the NPL and they remain as such until it is publicly announced otherwise. We can’t have clubs writing endless letters straight to the minister and the NSC over the head of their mother body NPL making bizarre demands time and again. 

The natural values of self-respect are very simple; if you are not happy with where you are and how things are being done, you must resign and move on!! I keep hearing endless murmurs of discontent from the eight clubs about the way things are done by the NPL but yet they remain members of the very same organ they complain about. Why not just resign from the NPL as opposed to causing more confusion and seeking undue relevance?
And also, I say it’s high time for the NFA leadership to protect its dignity and image by distancing itself from these eight rogue clubs because at times they sound and act like they are the gatekeepers of Football House in Katutura. Or are these clubs the undercover foot soldiers of the NFA in its ongoing scuffle against the NPL? I’m just asking…

For the eight clubs’ information, the CEP was not appointed to please the wishes of the NFA or those of the NPL, but it was appointed with the sole mandate of restoring football activities in the country and bridging the strained relations between the NFA and NPL. 
It would have been understandable if the 14-page letter was coming from either the NPL or NFA, but not from clubs who are just ordinary members of a member. As I said, the clubs are unhappy about the conduct of the NPL’s leadership, the league has internal remedies for them to relay on. Not writing endless letters to the minister, NSC and any moving thing under the sun while hiding behind the guise of wanting to save football.  

What the eight clubs are currently doing is undermining the genuine efforts and concerns expressed by government about the welfare of local players. And any attempts by anyone trying to black the efforts of government through the CEP cannot and should not be allowed at all. What are people afraid of? Why not give the CEP time and space to freely and objectively go about its business of restoring Namibian football. Why are the eight clubs preempting a process that has not even started, what are they scared of? What are they (club) not telling us? Why the growing desperation? 
I read the entire 14-page letter and the contradictions and loopholes therein are shocking. In fact, the whole letter smells of desperation and resembles someone running out of ideas or solutions. Let’s allow the CEP process to run its full course, and let’s appreciate the efforts of the minister and those of the NSC without politicising the whole thing to suit our misguided agendas. Until next time, sharp sharp!!