Simmering tensions

The Erongo Football League (EFL) has refuted allegations of incompetency levelled against chairperson Charles Mukuua and says he is going nowhere, despite calls by local coaches for him to fall on his sword.Several second division coaches, who spoke to Namibian Sun's sports desk, said Mukuua should resign with immediate effect, as he is ignoring a year-old directive from Namibia Premier League (NPL) president Frans Mbidi that the league is suspended.According to Young Eleven coach Wycliff Martins, Mbidi declared the 2015/16 league season null and void after he was called in to mediate between club officials and committee members, following a plethora of grievances that included false log standings being recorded and claims that funds had been mismanagement.However, there was no formal letter from Mbidi, which has now been used as a loophole to kick-start the league this year.This has frustrated coaches as they claim some clubs never received their prize monies for the 2015/16 season and that the league just resumed with a few teams, without settling what they are owed.In an email addressed to the Namibian Sun on 7 March, the league stated they received a N$10 000 grant from the NFA to kick-start the 2017/18 season and that they did so with six teams - Sorento Bucs FC, Karibib FC, Swakopmund FC, Zula Molest FC, Namibian Navy FC and Tuta Super Eagles FC.In the statement the league also said there was still no clarity on what prize monies would be on offer this season, as this had not been communicated by the NFA, even though the league had commenced. Martins claimed they were given a league coordinator, who was supposed to deal with registration of clubs, player cards and so forth during the 2015/16 season, but that the committee had “released” the coordinator and decided to do the work themselves, which was against the rules of NFA.The league again responded and said it is the responsibility of its exco to ensure football activities are going on in the region. “This includes the administration and coordination of the league. Yes, the EFL exco is ensuring that there are league fixtures and in addition that promotion and relegation is done as per the NFA rules and regulations. However, currently we are not aware of any promotion and relegation issues,” the statement read.The league also rebuffed claims made by another source that some clubs did not receive their winnings from the 2015/16 season, saying the top three teams that submitted their banking details on an official bank letterhead had received their prize monies. “The request of member clubs' banking details on an official bank letterhead aims to maintain transparency in EFL fiscal transactions. Walvis Bay Barcelona FC and Mighty Eagles FC did not submit their clubs banking details on a bank official letterhead and therefore their prize monies were not paid to them.”The EFL, however, disclose what had happened to the money.Debmarine woesApart from frustrating club heads when it comes to his management style, one of the coaches accused Mukuua of inviting teams not affiliated to EFL to take part in the DebMarine Namibia Cup preliminaries recently.“It is true that he brought in teams which are not affiliated. Teams like Celtic and Gendev FC - which are not registered members, played in the cup. Their player cards did not have a NFA stamp,” the coach said.The league confirmed that Celtic FC, Sorento Bucs FC, Karibib FC, Gendev FC, Swakopmund FC, Zula Molest FC, Namibian, Navy FC, Tuta Super Eagles FC and Young Eleven FC (who were included in the fixtures but did not play) formed part of the preliminaries and that they are all affiliated members of the EFL.Four clubs, Blue Birds FC, Mighty Eagles FC, Young Eleven FC and Walvis Bay Barcelona FC, boycotted the cup.The EFL executive members are Mukuua, vice-chairperson Ephraim Shozi, treasurer Gabriel Iiyambo, Gabriel Iiyambo Magrieta Philipus, Kaunalenga Avia, John Tjiveze and Taleni Tjiueza.LIMBA MUPETAMI

Simmering tensions

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-21

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Simmering tensions

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-21

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