Does the influx of foreign footballers really affect the standard and growth of players in the domestic game? Well, that is the unresolved debate in almost all the major leagues around the world.

Namibia has had her own problems in recent years where clubs have been signing mediocre or let us rather say average foreigners who add very little value to the domestic game if any.

It's my sincere belief that when a club ropes in the services of a foreign footballer he must be of exceptional talent and not some of the "fly-by-nights" we have been forced down our throats nowadays.

A few years back, our domestic league was entertaining and the crowd swelled the stands because the quality of football was high class. We had great entertainers like Domingo Martins (African Stars) Baba Kasembe (Liverpool) Mundu Camana and Chicco Goncalves (Ramblers) Armando Pedro (Blue Waters) Sputla Masite (Civics) and Tony Belange (Tigers).

These were top class footballers whose experience certainly rubbed off on the locals who in return raised their game - much to the delight of the paying customers.

Not only have these players brought an extra dimension to our game - the standard of our national team has also improved tremendously, courtesy of the presence of the foreign players in the domestic league.

Unfortunately, Namibian football does not have any rules in place concerning the influx of foreign players rather than the required number of foreigners a club is permitted to have on their books, irrespective of their capability in handling and chasing the spherical object.

Jersey Number Ten

The beautiful game is somehow losing its value on the playing field these days. Yours truly has been following with keen interest the alarming degrading of the number 10 jersey in modern football.

This number 10 was made famous by the world's greatest footballer one Edson Arantes Donascimento aka Pele and other greats such as Diego Marandona, Jomo Sono, John Barnes, Lawrence Chellin, Raphael "Mlungisi" Ngubane and Namibia's greatest footballer of all time Oscar "Silver Fox" Mengo wore that number with a measure of distinction.

It's common practice in modern football with the exception of South America's Brazil in particular, to find mediocre players or bench-warmers given the distinct honour of wearing the number 10 jersey on their backs these days

In Brazil, the number 10 jersey is not just a squad number - it's a much cherished commodity that is only reserved for the best player in the squad and is now worn by Kaka, undoubtedly the finest footballer in the Brazilian squad and even Ronaldhino is now kitted out in the gold and green number seven jersey of the Samba Boys.

Watch Out for Player Burnout

Whilst I doff my korrie for efforts by the Namibian Football Association's (NFA) Women's Desk in getting the game off the ground - one is compelled to raise some serious concerns over the fashion in which the lasses are going about their daily business.

Last weekend's National Tournament left a bitter taste in the mouth of many participants with a good number of players suffering an assortment of injuries, which can be largely attributed to the marathon number of games the poor girls were severely exposed to, notwithstanding the blistering heat.

Football is an integral component of entertainment and should be treated as such, period!

Youngsters Thrown into Lions' Den

As much as we understand that our National Under-17 football team needs warm-up matches prior to their penultimate two-legged clash against Malawi in due course - it defies all form of logic to pit these youngsters against grown men.

With the domestic league still in slumber land - many coaches are still trying different combinations with no settled lineups and most players would be eager to impress the coaching staff when the slightest opportunity arises.

Whoever came up with this silly idea is risking the future of these youngsters because a 16-year old Kamashona would in all likelihood come off second best in tackles and 50 - 50 situations. That once again demonstrates the shortsightedness in our football setup.