WINDHOEK, May 12 — The Namibia Football Association (NFA) has a debt of just over 23 million Namibia dollars (approx. 1.5 million US dollars) which has been accumulated mostly over the past year and a half, the country’s FIFA Normalization Committee revealed Wednesday at a press briefing in Windhoek.
The annual funds received from FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) are primarily for running the NFA office, and this funding is only sufficient for the above mentioned, according to FIFA Normalization Committee Chairperson Bisey Uirab.
“Where the NFA meets certain criteria, we can apply for additional funding from FIFA and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to cover specific projects. The additional monies received from current sponsors cover only a fraction of national team expenses and specific competitions,” he added.
According to Uirab, in addition, the NFA requires sponsorship for all the domestic leagues and all activities from other departments.
“We have started to address the governance, administration and financial challenges faced by the NFA, but funding to run various programs for the NFA remains a challenge,” he said.
Uirab said the committee is currently in the process of engaging various stakeholders including the government through their line ministry, FIFA, CAF and local sponsors to address these financial challenges to ensure the sport returns to normalcy.
The normalization committee was appointed by FIFA to rid the NFA of poor administration and alleged mismanagement of funds. (Xinhua)
Namibia’s football governing body wallowing in debt
