Coleman calls out NFA

LIMBA MUPETAMIWINDHOEKInternational footballer Zenatha Coleman didn’t mince her words when she called out the Namibia Football Association (NFA) for not supporting the women’s game enough, and thus opening a can of worms in regard to what has been happening in the corridors of the house of football in Namibia.Coleman, the captain of the senior side, took to social media saying that they were disappointed by news that they cannot take part in November’s women's Cosafa championship in South Africa.We need the money“Girls live off football; most don’t even work or attend school; finding a job is hard, whilst playing in the national team is the only way to get a little income and yet you denied them a chance at a potential professional contract.“We are ranked 143rd in the world. It’s very painful because we only play qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup and can't make it through to the next round because of poor preparations,” she said.Coleman, when asked by Nampa also questioned the NFA’s seriousness, said the team does not get paid the same amount of money as their male counterparts and they are made to camp at the NFA women’s centre while the men camp at luxurious hotels, among other things.“We are really tired of hearing the same story, that there is no money, but there is always money for the Brave Warriors. Why do we have to be treated like this? It is really sad,” Coleman said.“We need to see change. Give the Gladiators the necessary support and equal treatment,” said Coleman, who plays for Spanish Primera División club Sevilla.NFA says let’s weigh optionsColeman’s utterances came after the NFA said that the women would not be part of the senior and under-17 girls' Cosafa championship from 5 to 13 November.They withdrew themselvesAsked by Namibian Sun why the women will not be featuring in the competition, the president of NFA, Ranga Haikali, claimed that head of the Women’s Desk, Jacky Shipanga, had informed him that they were not prepared to take part in the competition as the players had not trained and that the opportunity should rather be given to the national under-17 boys to compete.“The same people who are complaining are the same ones who said that they are not ready,” said Haikali. He also added that they want teams to compete and not just participate in tournaments.Last year’s performanceLast year, the seniors took part and suffered narrow losses to Zambia (3-2) and Botswana (1-0) but they beat Mauritius 8-0 in the final match. Namibia missed out on the inaugural women's under-17 championship.We don’t want to be blamedAfter that, the under-20 national team was humiliated 7-0 by Botswana in the first leg of their Fifa under-20 World Cup qualifiers at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in January.Mamie Kasaona, who was coaching the team at that time, blamed the now defunct Fifa Normalisation Committee for throwing them into the deep end after the defeat stirred criticism from many locals who questioned the level of the national team and the development of football in the country.How events unfoldedSince then the local women players haven’t enjoyed any league games, friendlies or competitions on national level. Some of the blame was placed on the Covid-19 pandemic.The women were initially invited for the competition, which was slated for April but was postponed. However, another communique was issued around 4 September that the competition would take place next month.We had enough time to prepareCountries were given a deadline of 11 September to confirm their participation in the under-17 competition.A similar communique regarding the senior competition came around 1 October, with the deadline set for 7 October.“There was ample time to call a team together as they do with the men’s game. I think they want to use the funds for the women to finance the NFA top-tier league,” said a source close to the association.Cosmos explainsThe acting secretary-general of the NFA, Franco Cosmos, last week said that it doesn’t make financial sense for Namibia to be part of the competition.He said Cosafa asked that each member pay US$50 000 (about N$824 000) in membership fees. This is towards affiliation US$20 000 (N$330 000), and US$30 000 (N$495 000) for participation."If you add preparation costs, appearance fees and other hidden costs, this figure will balloon," said Cosmos."Many other members also indicated they cannot afford the fees and therefore won't be present. The situation is worse because of Covid. I said it before and I'll say it again: Covid football is expensive," he told the Namibian newspaper."It does not make sense for us to take on such a huge financial undertaking. Unfortunately, we will have to sit this one out."I have no mandateIt is reported that a universal solidarity grant of US$1 million was made available to all Fifa member associations and an additional US$500 000 (about N$8 million) allocated specifically to women’ football to support them during this difficult time. Cosmos explained that Covid money is untouched and that he does not have the mandate to touch it.“There will be an executive committee meeting on Saturday. This is where discussions regarding what the money will be used for will be discussed.”Let’s be responsible with fundsFurthermore, he added that after Shipanga wrote to them stating their unpreparedness, he forwarded that communication to Fifa.“We need to put issues on a scale, weigh them and make a decision. Cosafa is a small competition compared to Afcon qualifiers. So, which one should we inject money into? We can’t just use money because it is there. We have a responsibility to use it wisely.”We want to develop the women“We want to nurture the women’s game and with that we should look at other ways to get everyone involved. This is where the envisioned Women’s Super-Cup comes in. Instead of spending money on a team which isn’t prepared and having a scenario where they are beaten 6-0, we look at the bigger picture and apply logic. This Cup can even unearth new talent.“We cannot compete against the likes of Botswana and South Africa. No one is being victimised. And it doesn’t make sense for Coleman to even say that players live off this money they get paid. So that is all? What a small number of players will benefit from playing, what then is the bigger picture,” added Cosmos.Funds for womenDespite Cosmos saying that there is no money, Cosafa informed that they will provide accommodation and meals for 26 delegates as well as transport to the training ground and matches. Countries are responsible for their own transport to and from the tournament venue.Asked what these grants would be used for, given that there won’t be any competitions for the women, Haikali said the money would not be touched or re-directed.He further explained that from the money Fifa gets, the women’s game gets 50%. He also explained that the Women’s Department is not an island and cannot have a separate account as the money is sent to the association.

Coleman calls out NFA

Comments

Namibian Sun 2024-11-25

Please login to leave a comment

Coleman calls out NFA

Comments

Namibian Sun 2024-11-25

Please login to leave a comment

Login