FIFA accredits Nthoiwa
Based in Slovakia, Botswana’s Moran Nthoiwa has recently been accredited by the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) as a match-day agent.
Nthoiwa, who is also a FIFA accredited football agent/representative told this publication that his latest qualification will enable him to help most African countries to make most of FIFA international breaks and generate more income.
“The accreditation means I can now contribute towards the growth of football (both clubs and national teams). With finding quality opponents for clubs/national teams, this means more revenue as the attendance will improve and clubs/national teams will use these matches to work on areas that need attention. It is imperative to consult and arrange these matches well in advance to maximize on attendance – this means more people would plan to attend matches, the clubs/national teams would have more time to plan on the opponents, market the matches thus maximizing on revenues,” Nthoiwa explained.
Botswana Football Association were left unimpressed after a trip to play Tanzania was postponed at the last minute after it emerged their hosts had booked two other opponents. Tanzania reportedly wanted to downgrade the clash to a practice match, which would not help the Zebras’ cause, as Botswana is keen to improve on the FIFA rankings. The situation, according to reliable sources, sparked some discussions amongst the echelons of power at Lekidi to engage FIFA match-day agents but a stumbling block to the considerations were reported high costs that comes with the arrangement.
“FIFA Match Agents work on a commission basis, up to 25% of the gross income of the match organized. That means the more you plan in advance, the better as you can maximize on income and profit for the Association. I am willing to assist the Association to generate money,” he said.
Nthoiwa further revealed that, engaging FIFA accredited agents would enable federations to lure top ranked clubs which could help them improve their rankings.
South Africa’s Hugo Broos recently made condescending remarks regarding playing lower ranked opposition sides adding that there is nothing to learn from those team.
South Africa managed to secure a friendly match with world champions, France which was made possible by engaging FIFA agents, as more African countries are warming up to the idea of engaging FIFA agents for their international friendly match encounters. The arrangement is also believed to be a key component in boosting the tourism of the hosting countries and expose top talents against highly rated sides.
“It definitely will boost clubs/national teams revenues as I’ve said, over and above that, planning in advance also gives time to scouts and agents to prepare to watch or attend these matches. In terms of sport tourism, it can highly boosts the sector as many people do travel and follow their teams, more especially when everything is organized well and in advance.
A number of African countries that I have approached so far have been very welcoming and some of them have already given me their schedules to arrange matches for them,” he concluded.