Renthia Kaimbi
Blue Girls Netball Club of Swakopmund has lodged a formal protest over its exclusion from the 2026 MTC Namibia Netball Premier League playoffs.
The club is accusing Netball Namibia of unfair procedures and inconsistent application of its rules.
The dispute follows a communication issued by Netball Namibia on 24 October 2025 confirming the teams that qualified for the playoffs.
The list did not include the Erongo Region champions.
Netball Namibia president Juanita Witbeen told Observer Coastal that regions which failed to meet administrative deadlines were excluded from the process.
In a detailed letter addressed to Witbeen, Blue Girls management rejected that explanation and said the club is being punished for administrative failures beyond its control.
At the centre of the complaint is what the club describes as unequal treatment between the Erongo and Omusati regions.
“At the time of confirmation, no league winner had been clearly and definitively determined in the Omusati Region, yet accommodation was nonetheless afforded. Conversely, Erongo Region clubs, including Blue Girls Netball Club, had submitted all required documentation by 15 October 2025,” the letter states.
Team manager Mathilde Nicolao, who signed the letter, questioned the basis for the decision.
“We respectfully submit that both Erongo and Omusati should be bound by the same legal and administrative principles… We request clarification on the basis upon which the two regions were treated differently,” Nicolao wrote.
The club also said it acted in good faith during the suspension of the Erongo regional league. It said the league was formally suspended for three weekends in July 2025 due to national events and that all clubs complied with the directive.
“As clubs, we were bound by this suspension and had no authority or discretion to proceed outside the dates formally communicated,” the letter reads.
Blue Girls further argued that “any failure by a regional association to meet national administrative timelines cannot lawfully or fairly be attributed to an individual club,” especially where the club was not informed of the deadlines it is accused of missing.
Asked for comment, Erongo region Netball Association secretary general Deseline Auchas said the matter is still under internal processes and that the team should await a position from regional administrators.
The club also requested full disclosure of all relevant correspondence and a detailed written response. It said it reserves the right to take further action if adequate clarification is not provided.
Blue Girls Netball Club is now waiting for a final decision that will determine whether it is reinstated for the 2026 playoffs or excluded from the competition.
