Debmarine Namibia was on Thursday announced as the sponsor of the Namibia Premier Football League (NPFL) for the 2022/23 season after committing a N.dollars 13 million ‘trial’ sponsorship deal.
The trial sponsorship deal was officially signed in Windhoek by Debmarine Namibia, who were represented by their outgoing Chief Executive Officer, Otto Shikongo, and the Namibia Football Association (NFA), represented by the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) Normalisation Committee Chairperson, Bisey /Uirab.
Speaking at the sponsorship announcement, Shikongo said they are committing a targeted sponsorship towards the NPFL for the 2022/23 football season, which will now be known as the Debmarine Namibia Premiership.
“This ‘trial’ sponsorship will commence today (Thursday) until the end of the season. Weighing into sports sponsorships offers our young people the opportunity to play competitive sports and provide platforms for them to be scouted by other clubs, which will further put our country’s name on the global sporting map, amongst other benefits,” he said.
Shikongo said their agreement with the NFA is just one illustration of the efforts they are making to be responsive to the challenges facing Namibia.
“For us, through this trial sponsorship agreement with the NFA, one of our fundamental conditions is that respect for the game be upheld. We hope this sponsorship will bring all the NFA football clubs together and unite everyone who has love for the game during this trial sponsorship period and well beyond,” he added.
He appealed to both NFA and Debmarine to execute the agreement to the highest standards of diligence, discipline and accountability, saying his company is totally uncompromising when it comes to adherence to good governance and financial controls.
In accepting the sponsorship, /Uirab said the NFA was deeply indebted to Debmarine for committing to sponsoring the men’s top tier league.
“This is a true testimony to Debmarine Namibia’s unwavering commitment to investing in social upliftment projects for the benefit of the nation. We are excited and thrilled that despite the brand damage and harm inflicted to the image of the NFA, Debmarine Namibia still believes in the product of football,” he said.
/Uirab also revealed that the NFA will manage the NPFL under the association model (whose administration falls within the administration of the association and is fully governed by it), whilst crafting a roadmap towards professionalisation in the medium term. This will pave the way for a separate entity model, where the league stands alone and is a formal legal entity with its own governance and management structures.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
