After three years of hard work, Futsal Namibia League administrators have expressed gratitude towards the Namibian Football Association (NFA) for admitting them as new members.

Futsal Namibia was officially relaunched in April 2021 for the Under-17 and Under-19 boys, Open League, and Ladies’ teams after its maiden season in 2019 was interrupted in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Futsal is a football game played on a hard court, smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is the goalkeeper. Unlimited substitutions are permitted.

In an interview with the media on Friday during the resumption of their 2023 season, league founder Andrei Tirtiran said they are happy to see that their hard work has finally paid off.

“For the last three years, we have been working on becoming NFA member none stop, and we are happy that the NFA has approved our application,” he said.

He added that being admitted as a member of the NFA, they have already started working towards the NFA and the International Federation of Associations Football (FIFA) status.

“We hosted our first referee workshop this week as our goal is to have 20 referees that belong to Futsal Namibia. Soon we will select our men’s and women's national teams, and we are excited about the development,” he said, adding that due to a lack of infrastructure, they cannot have the league running in all the towns in the country, but their goal now is to launch a league in Rundu and Swakopmund.

Futsal Namibia League director Abisai Simon added that the next six months will see them putting up their heads and working towards growing the league.

“The national team players will be selected from the Premier League, First and Second Division,” said Simon.

Meanwhile, Tirtiran stated that Futsal Namibia League does not have sponsors, therefore, any corporate company interested in partnering with them or taking over the naming rights of the league are welcome to approach them.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency