The Namibia Football Association (NFA) has cautioned clubs affiliated to the Namibia Premier Football League (NPFL) “not to maintain any relations of a sporting nature with entities that are not recognised, or with members that have been suspended or expelled.”
In a letter written by the NFA Secretary-General Franco Cosmos and seen by Nampa, the NFA said should any of the member clubs decide to join the Namibia Premier League (NPL), they should resign from the NFA.
The warning comes after the NPL wrote a letter to 36 clubs from the three First Division streams, asking them to indicate their interest in continuing as members of the organisation.
The warning was issued according to the NFA Status Article 13 (i), the NFA said.
The letter also invited Chief Santos, Civics, Orlando Pirates, Rundu Chiefs, Young African and Young Chiefs.
Tigers, Julinho and Mighty Gunners were asked to indicate their positions with regards to their NPL status.
The NPL gave the clubs until 22 February to show their interest.
It invited these clubs to indicate their interest in being members of the National First Division (NFD).
In response to the warning through a letter on Thursday morning, the NPL said ‘the NFA motive is to intimidate unsuspecting clubs and cause confusion’.
“The NPL’s invitation is a transparent scheme to move beyond petty football politics and form a league (NFD) of a national character. Football is the ultimate winner, and it will surely commence soon. Several clubs have already answered affirmatively to the NPL invitation,” the letter signed by the NPL Exco said.
It added that the NPL is a registered national sports body and is recognised by the Sports Commission to manage and administer professional football in Namibia.
The letter further states that Article 10 of the NFA Statutes is clear on the fact that clubs are not members of the NFA, adding that the NFA letter is “conceited, dishonest and disingenuous.”
The NFA suspended the NPL in 2019 before expelling them in 2020, leading to the creation of the NPFL the same year.
Source: The Namibian press Agency
