This weekend Namibians from all walks of life will certainly hold hands and rally behind Black Africa, who are taking on South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs in a historic African Champions League encounter in Johannesburg.
Here at home, African Stars will be hosting Angola’s Petro Atletico for the CAF Confederation Cup tournament. All patriots will surely rally behind the two teams, irrespective of which Namibian football team they usually support.
But the secret to the participation of both teams in these continental showpieces is never credited enough – and that’s the millionaire team owners who have unselfishly pumped money into their continued growth.
Ranga Haikali took over as owner of Black Africa some years ago and transformed the team into a unit that won the local premier league three times in a row.
Fisheries mogul Sydney Martin, on the other hand, was instrumental in shaping Stars into the modern football club that they are today, thanks to his massive investment in the team.
Mobile network giant MTC capped it all with their generous sponsorship of the overall league, as well as individual sponsorships of nine of the twelve teams plying their trade in the premier league.
It must be noted that Namibian football is nowhere near break-even level. It remains a largely voluntary engagement from all involved in it – including footballers.
Being the bottomless pit that it is, Namibian football remains a strain on club owners - and to some extent, sponsors. The mileage that sponsors get is critical but it can hardly match the value of investment that companies such as MTC are making.
It therefore goes without saying that those carrying the financial burden of Namibian football clubs truly deserve a pat on the back for their selfless attempts to get this country’s football to a different level.
On Friday, Black Africa players – a group of schoolteachers, mechanics and probably truck drivers in real life – will be taking on a Kaizer Chiefs team whose players make millions from endorsement deals, image rights and fat salaries.
From Itumeleng Khune and Siphiwe Tshabalala to Bernard Parker, there’s great evidence why Chiefs are called Glamour Boys. And this is not so much about their skill on the field of play, but mostly about the riches that come with it.
While we crawl towards that level, we must in the meantime rally behind our own boys and thank their generous chairmen.
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