Former Brave Gladiators coach, Woody Jacobs, has threatened to take the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Normalisation Committee (NC) at the Namibia Football Association (NFA) to the labour court for breach of contract, unpaid salaries and allowances.
This follows the termination of his contract in May, which NC chairperson, Bisey Uirab, said was because of its expiration, something that Jacobs disputes.
Speaking to Nampa on Tuesday, Jacobs said former NFA secretary-general, Franco Cosmos, had verbally extended his contract despite the administrative matters being incomplete.
In a letter sent to the NC, Jacobs is claiming N.dollars 220 000, which he says are appearance fees of three Council of South African Football Association (COSAFA) matches; between Uganda, Zambia and Eswatini, and four Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Tanzania and Zambia.
Jacobs confirmed to Nampa that he sent a letter of demand to the NC, saying he is only seeking what is due to him, just as the Brave Warriors players who were recently paid what they are owed before their departure to South Africa for the COSAFA Cup.
“I have been diplomatic and patient enough and I feel the rule of law must now take its course. I do not know why I was fired even though I was interviewed and recommended for the Brave Gladiators job the same as the Brave Warriors coach did. So what is it that denies me the same treatment as Brave Warriors coach? Am I less Namibian?” Jacobs questioned, saying he feels personally mistreated.
The NC recently appointed Collin Benjamin as the substantive coach of the Brave Warriors, replacing Bobby Samaria, who was a stand-in coach since July 2019, after the expiry of Ricardo Manetti’s contract.
Jacobs added that he feels there is a deliberate attempt to sideline him from football matters because of his outspokenness, which he says should not be taken out of context.
He noted that as a qualified coaching instructor, he has never been called upon to facilitate any coaching clinic, nor invited to attend the selection of players during trials the past week and before.
He further stated that the current NC is making the same mistakes as those of the previous NC, led by Hilda Basson-Namundjebo, which he said divided people in football by taking sides, instead of being objective and united.
“Why has football not started? The NC has been in office for 90 days. They have not spoken about reconciliation. All they have done is fire Woody, fire Franco Cosmos (former secretary general) and fire Bobby (Samaria),” he stated.
He explained that Namibian labour law does not allow for a person to be employed on a temporary basis for a period of more than 12 months without permanently employing them, meaning the NC actually fired Samaria rather than let his contract end.
The NC Chairperson, Uirab told Nampa on Tuesday that he was not in a position to comment on individual issues, stating that the NFA’s financial status is well known.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
