Delayed payments to athletes is unacceptable

I have always in my modest way called on sport administrators to refrain from spearheading their agendas and egos at the expense of athletes, and in this case the senior national football players alias the Brave Warriors who still have to get their payment for CHAN.
After having witnessed the excellent performance of the Brave Warriors during their maiden African Nations Championship (CHAN) held in Morocco, were the national side reached the quarter final stage of the competition, this is how they get repaid for their trouble. We were all under the impression (football lovers) that following their brilliant performance in Morocco in January this year, the players and the technical committee have since been remunerated but unfortunately that’s not the case. Shameful! I have learned with dismay on Sunday, when the Namibia Football Association (NFA) secretary-general Barry Rukoro, by the way whose employment contract came to an end on 31 March saying that the national team players are to-date not remunerated for their services during a radio interview.
The question on my lips, and perhaps on everyone else’s lips is why it took so long to remunerate the national team player, is it that there was no money in the Association’s bank account? Just when the players were to get their deserving payment last week, we unbelievably heard that both FransMbidi, Rukoro and executive member Roger Kambatuku were declared unfit by the executive to sign any NFA cheques leaving the players with an uncertain future regarding their payment. This could not have happened had Mbidi and Rukoro put their differences aside, the image of the NFA and football has been severely tarnished not just by two individuals but the whole NFA executive demonstrated their unwillingness to arrest the situation and deal with it amicably.
What are the real issues behind the smokescreen that both Rukoro and Mbidi are feeding the nation with unsubstantiated information.
Its true that Mbidi has informed FIFA that Rukoro is no more the SG since his employment contract ended on 31 March. And though the NFA acknowledged receipt of Mbidi’s letter dated 26 March on Rukoro’s employment contract coming to an end on 31 March, the world football body did not indicate in any way that they will interfere into the local football saga. All that FIFA asked in the letter dated 7 April, in their respond to Mbidi’s letter is that they (FIFA) be informed duly if a new ‘secretary general’is appointed within the laws and rules of the NFA. So, here we have a president saying that FIFA has been invited to conduct a forensic audit, and during his interview with radio Omurari (NBC) Rukoro informed the public that the FIFA delegation currently in the country are only here to audit FIFA funding to the Association, and not to investigate the squabbles between Mbidi and Rukoro.
However, Rukoroclaimed that all football associations affiliated to FIFA world wide will have their books audited as all associations were informed sometime late last year. Just wondering why in all fairness are the Association affiliates so mum and not taking any drastic measures.
So who is fooling who, is the real issue a tribal one, personality clashes, egos or what exactly? I think for the good of football the honourable thing that these individuals can do is either put their differences aside and try to solve the problem amicably or call it quit by resigning.
Its not just the Brave Warriors players who are to get their payment, the First Division is again a non-starter since money can’t be released from the NFA bank account to have the league up and running. The MTC Premiership will conclude very soon. We hope the dust around the funding will soon be something of the past, and that the division kicks off before the top flight Premiership conclude in May.

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