terça-feira, 26 de janeiro de 2010

Nujoma Stadium loses Astroturf

BY: CORRY IHUHUA


THE International Football Federation (Fifa), in consultation with Greenfields Sport Turf Systems, has decided to remove the artificial turf at the Sam Nujoma Stadium, which they claim affects playability because of serious structural problems in various parts of the complex.


This came to light in a letter addressed to the Chief Executive Officer of the City of Windhoek, Niilo Taapopi, which states that the structural problems have led to the movement of the sub-base, and “affects the playability of the synthetic turf system”.

“We have therefore decided, in consultation with Fifa, to remove the artificial turf system. We shall use the same material, which is in impeccable condition, for the football pitch at the Namibia Football Association (NFA) Training Centre,” the letter written by Sophocles Sophocleous, an inspector from Greenfields, says.

Greenfields Sport Turf Systems is a Fifa-approved manufacturer of artificial football turfs and also provides additional expertise in civil engineering and project management.

It was responsible for assigning a local company to lay the Astroturf at the stadium through the Fifa ‘Win in Africa with Africa’ project. 

The turf was a gift from Fifa.

Sophocleous further states in the letter that they had tried to fix the problems on a number of occasions, only for them to resurface soon after.

“The latest inspection, which had taken place in mid-December 2009, has led to the conclusion that these problems are the result of serious structural weaknesses of the whole complex,” he said.

“Signs of these are evident on the stands, the outside drainage channel and other parts of the structure”.

Yesterday, Taapopi said he had to check with his colleagues who might have received the letter while he was on leave before making a comment.

The City of Windhoek’s spokesperson, Liz Sibindi, requested written questions in order to consult with the department responsible for the stadium.

The Namibia Football Association’s (NFA) Chief Executive Officer, Barry Rukoro, who also received the letter, said: “The NFA was not directly informed about the possibility that the turf will be moved to the envisaged NFA Technical Centre. What we have seen is a letter from Greenfields to the City but we have not seen the City’s response on the matter. 

“It will therefore be premature for us to comment on the matter at this stage.

What we can say is, however, that the faci-lity has proven itself to be good for the development of Namibian football where it is. What the future holds is not yet clear,” he said.

The letter was also addressed to George Mayumbelo, the City of Windhoek’s Strategic Executive on Economic Development and Community Services, as well as Nancy Brandt, the Manager for Parks at the Municipality. 

Neither of them could be reached for comment.

The construction of the Sam Nujoma Stadium was completed in 2005 and was done by Namibia Construction, a local company.

The engineer of the project, Peter Roland at Buhrmann and Partners, said yesterday that he had nothing to do with the laying of the turf, but acknowledged that there was a “big fight” about it being installed. 

“All I can say is that there are minor areas where the plaster fell off that we are currently fixing and I cannot say anything about the laying of the plastic grass. It was a decision purely taken by the authorities at the municipal and football level,” he said.

However, The Namibian understands that the installation of the turf has up to now not been officially approved by the City of Windhoek, as they were not entirely happy with it because of several mistakes.

Normal grass was first planted after the completion of the 10 300-seat stadium, but had to be removed just over a year ago for the laying of the Astroturf, which is now also proving problematic as there is no proper drainage system.

Several Namibia Premier League matches have had to be called off because of water on the turf, while the Namibian women’s team could also not complete their Under-20 World Cup qualifier against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Saturday because of a water-logged pitch. 

The match was called off at half-time and was replayed on Sunday at the same venue.

The Namibian