NFA insists Gladiators will be paid

Financial woes faced by the Namibia Football Association (NFA) have not only affected players, as senior officials have also not received their monthly dues, secretary-general Barry Rukoro says.
The alleged controversy pertains to players of the senior women national football team, Brave Gladiators, who are yet to be paid after their appearances at the 2016 CAF African Women’s Nations’ Cup qualifying matches against Zambia in March.
Speaking to Nampa on the sidelines of a football-related event at Gobabis, Rukoro said the NFA is in financial shambles, which has resulted in them failing to meet financial obligations due to the players and senior management of the NFA.
“This is the first time in 15 or 20 years that this is happening, and it is not just the players. I am also not paid!” he said.
He said the NFA’s mandate is to make football matches happen as people associate themselves with the organisation by choice and paying players comes second.
“We do not have to pay players first, we have to make sure our girls play first. You choose to play football. You associate by choice, and that is why it is called the NFA.”
This is despite the men’s national football team the Brave Warriors and the Under-20 men’s team being paid for their appearances against Burundi and Swaziland.
“We are not saying that the players will not be paid, but we cannot spend money we do not have. We have to make decisions, these decisions befall us and those responsibilities are ours. Yes they are not paid, but they are not alone.”
The Namibia Football Players’ Union (NFPU) has threatened to boycott the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup in June by not allowing local players to partake in the competition.
“This is a burning issue and we are not bluffing. We need a dispute resolution chamber to solve this issue, and the NFA does not have such,” NFPU Secretary-General Olsen Kahihiri told this news agency recently.
Contacted for comment, the chairperson of the Women’s Football National Committee Jacqueline Gertze refused to be drawn into the saga, noting that the players took up the issue themselves and consulted other people they trust to deal with it.
“The issue of allegations of non-payment to the Brave Gladiators players is not in our hands anymore. We respect their decision and rights, and we respect the organisation that represent them in their personal capacities as players in this regard, and for that reason, I cannot say whether they have been paid or not and whether they have the support of the NFA Women’s Department,” said Gertze. - Nampa