Swapo parliamentarian Marius Sheya has proposed that the Ministry of Finance introduce sport levies to assist the Namibian Premier League (NPL).

He made this proposal on Wednesday while contributing to the mid-year budget review tabled on Tuesday.

"I must applaud the finance and education ministries because on Friday, the premier league is kicking off, and we are struggling to get corporate companies on board.

"As we have this National Youth Development Fund, the Sports Act allows for a sport fund. I think it is high time that the private sector started contributing a sport levy," he said.

He said this will ensure that the government will not have to beg for funds every year.

He added that this will assist the government in its plans to build more sport facilities, thereby easing the burden.

The 2025/26 NFL season was scheduled to kick off on 1 September but was postponed due to sponsorship challenges.

Debmarine and the Namibia Football Association were involved in negotiations after the successful three-year sponsorship of N$50 million.

The line ministry last month announced it had allocated N$10 million for the league to start.

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