I am not well

Herma Prinsloo
Last Thursday I had one of the most emotional 'Sport Wrap' shows I have done in my career, interviewing two players who played in the MTC Namibia Premier League.

These men clearly felt they had nowhere else to turn to and had to share their pain on the show.

You could sense the pain, frustration and disappointment in their voices.

The dismay they felt towards our football leaders was written all over their faces.

It touched me in a sense that I knew how happy these guys used to be during their playing days.

These are people who had big dreams of playing the game at the highest level.

These are players who were ambitious and wanted to win league and cup titles.

Fans used to cheer for these guys and their families were proud of seeing them on the pitch week in and week out.

Yes, I knew that the players had lost so much during this time but hearing it from them on the show made me realise that the situation is worse than imagined.

Players have lost hope and their dreams are broken just because of people with big egos who are failing to pull in one direction.

The fact that some of these guys used to pay for their education with what they earned from football and now they are unable to do so is heart-breaking.

These guys lost their livelihoods and some have turned to alcohol and drugs.

A game they once loved has become something they just read about or watch on television.

Many of these players were breadwinners for their families and now they have to suffer because of the problems brought on by leaders.

The hopes and dreams of aspiring footballers hang in the balance because administrators are failing to come to a lasting agreement.

Some of these players depended solely on football given that they do not have other jobs and neither do they hold any academic qualifications.

They are fathers and sometimes husbands or partners and football has been the only thing that helped them to put bread on the table.

What saddens me most is that all this could have been avoided if we all just pulled together in one direction.

It is no secret that some football administrators feel superior to others, and that is why they often fail to reach common ground as football leaders, whose only job is to run the affairs of the beautiful game.

We are clearly a divided football nation that lacks consistency, thorough decision-making and togetherness.

It is for these reasons I am pleading with those in football positions to get things rolling in order for the beautiful game to be played.

It is high time that football bosses drop their big egos and put football first.

Please think of those players whose dreams have been shattered due to your own personal egos.

So much is owed to those players that have lost their livelihoods due to a lack of action and it is the responsibility of those in leadership structures to bring that hope back.

Make these players believe and dream again by restarting football at all costs.

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Republikein 2026-06-11

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