• Football

NPFL's Debmarine sponsorship sinking

• 7 Hours Ago

The Namibia Premier Football League (NPFL) and the Namibia Football Association’s quest to renew their relations with league sponsors Debmarine Namibia has apparently hit a brick wall.

Well-placed sources confirmed to Sport Wrap that Debmarine Namibia’s economic realities might hamper the diamond-mining company from committing to the premiership.

Debmarine Namibia allegedly indicated to the association that they might shift focus to facing more urgent priorities and will possibly not enter into another multi-year commitment towards the league.

Speculation is rife that the football association has already started looking for potential sponsors following the discussions with Debmarine Namibia.

Debmarine Namibia initially came to the rescue of the league during the 2022-2023 season – spending about an aggregated N$50 million towards the league until the completion of the 2024-2025 season.

The company now however come under financial pressure in the current climate of the diamond-mining sector.

There has been a decrease in demand for natural diamonds due to the rise in lab-developed diamonds, as well as reduced prices that has impacted the company’s growth.

The lower production of diamonds has resulted in a subdued financial performance for the company, resulting in a 38% drop in revenue from the company during 2024.

Debmarine’s decision to retire two of its diamond-mining vessels has already been reported.

“With the company facing potential retrenchments, I think they said it would not make sense to the public eye that they still sponsor millions to football, while they are under significant pressure themselves.

“I believe this was the reason why Debmarine Namibia has decided to pull the plug of the league.

“I doubt that they will be able to make a U-turn on the decision and it will take a miracle if they were to continue,” the source said.

Debmarine Namibia CEO Willy Mertens chose not to publicly comment on the matter at this time.

“Hi Jesse, no comment for now. Stella, our communications Manager, is the best person to talk to,” Mertens said.

The communications manager Stella Ipinge acknowledged the receipt of the queries.

“I am currently out of the office with work, and limited access to e-mail. Please expect a delay in response,” a reply from Ipinge read.

NFA remains positive

NFA acting secretary-general Cassius Moetie did not deny, nor confirm the information, but assured the public that the NFA was hard at work in order to secure a sponsorship for the league.

“All I can tell you at the moment is that we are busy with discussions and can only come back to the public once we have secured a sponsor.

“As the body responsible for the governance of football, we are hard at work and everything will be communicated to the public when the time is right,” Moetie said.

Growing concerns

Observers in the football fraternity have expressed concern over the situation, fearing a repeat of what happened a few years ago when the Namibia Premiership went three seasons without being played due to a lack of sponsors, as well as infighting that required the involvement of world-governing body FIFA.