Sports leaders justify football funding
Budgeting
Leaders in the Namibian sports fraternity has leaped to the defence of the lopsided national budget allocation towards to the Brave Warriors trips’ and football in general.
This comes after several observers and role players have questioned the amount of resources channelled towards football and the Brave Warriors by the government, compared to all the other sport codes.
In previous years, the national men’s football team have allegedly often been the recipient of around N$19 million to N18 million per year for participation and travel, as well as a recent N$50 million boost towards sport leagues, while other sport codes relatively pocket less as far the fees allocation is concerned.
Namibia Sports Commission chief administrator Freddy Mwiya however defended the allocations, stating that football is a priority-funded area due to the purpose it serves among other sport codes.
“I think we have to look at the importance and the impact football has on many lives before we can start questioning the allocations.
“There is a large capital injection towards football, because it is a very expensive sport and is also regarded as a high-priority funded code,” Mwiya said.
The NSC chief further remarked that the funding towards the Brave Warriors also depends on which competition they are playing.
Mwiya pointed out that there has been times when the national men’s rugby team has pocketed more from allocations than football.
“The footballers got N$11 million when they went to the Afcon tournament, which was less than what the rugby team got when they went to the World Cup.
“It is therefore sometimes also about the competition the team is involved in and the number of people it will be serving,” Mwiya said.
In agreement
Deputy minister of sport Dino Ballotti also shared the same sentiments as Mwiya concerning the funding of sports codes.
“It was made clear in the budget to make sports as a priority and I believe football gets more because of the impact and due to the fact that it is a priority-funded code which serves more people.
“This does not mean that other sport codes are not important as well, but it’s about how inclusive the code can be,” Ballotti said.
This year, the government allocated allocated N$1.3 billion to the Sport, Youth and National Service sector.
N$200 million was set aside for the construction of Category 2 sport stadiums nationwide, while N$200 million is set aside for basic sport infrastructure development, as well as N$50 million to support sport leagues.
This comes after several observers and role players have questioned the amount of resources channelled towards football and the Brave Warriors by the government, compared to all the other sport codes.
In previous years, the national men’s football team have allegedly often been the recipient of around N$19 million to N18 million per year for participation and travel, as well as a recent N$50 million boost towards sport leagues, while other sport codes relatively pocket less as far the fees allocation is concerned.
Namibia Sports Commission chief administrator Freddy Mwiya however defended the allocations, stating that football is a priority-funded area due to the purpose it serves among other sport codes.
“I think we have to look at the importance and the impact football has on many lives before we can start questioning the allocations.
“There is a large capital injection towards football, because it is a very expensive sport and is also regarded as a high-priority funded code,” Mwiya said.
The NSC chief further remarked that the funding towards the Brave Warriors also depends on which competition they are playing.
Mwiya pointed out that there has been times when the national men’s rugby team has pocketed more from allocations than football.
“The footballers got N$11 million when they went to the Afcon tournament, which was less than what the rugby team got when they went to the World Cup.
“It is therefore sometimes also about the competition the team is involved in and the number of people it will be serving,” Mwiya said.
In agreement
Deputy minister of sport Dino Ballotti also shared the same sentiments as Mwiya concerning the funding of sports codes.
“It was made clear in the budget to make sports as a priority and I believe football gets more because of the impact and due to the fact that it is a priority-funded code which serves more people.
“This does not mean that other sport codes are not important as well, but it’s about how inclusive the code can be,” Ballotti said.
This year, the government allocated allocated N$1.3 billion to the Sport, Youth and National Service sector.
N$200 million was set aside for the construction of Category 2 sport stadiums nationwide, while N$200 million is set aside for basic sport infrastructure development, as well as N$50 million to support sport leagues.
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