President of the Namibia Football Association (NFA) Ranga Haikali has been suspended with immediate effect, on allegations ranging from acting beyond his powers, to corruptly influencing the awarding of tenders to companies where he has an interest.

In a letter by the executive committee (exco) and signed by NFA vice president Izak Fredericks on Tuesday, Haikali was informed that the allegations against him will be forwarded to the NFA ethics committee as directed by the world governing body, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).

The letter seen by Nampa read that a duly constituted meeting by the NFA exco held on 13 August 2021, resolved to suspend Haikali on charges that include refusing to add proposed agenda points for an exco meeting scheduled for 18 and 19 June which was then postponed due to COVID-19 regulations.

Other charges listed are; withholding crucial information of owning shares in companies that were providing services to the NFA, forcefully attempting to coerce the exco on an unconstitutional appointment without advertising the position, and enlisting the services of a human resources company in the recruitment of the national team coaches.

The suspension was further confirmed by the secretary-general of NFA, Franco Cosmos, in a letter stating that Haikali is suspended until the next congress or until the exco reverses its decision.

Efforts to get comment from the Haikali proved fruitless as his phone went unanswered.

The current NFA president and exco were elected into office on 22 February 2020 following a one-year and six-month tenure of the Normalisation Committee that was put in place by FIFA following the dissolution of the Frans Mbidi led exco.

Source: Namibia Press Agency