In a closely contested election held at the Mercure Hotel earlier today, Robert Shimooshili was elected as the new president of the Namibia Football Association (NFA), defeating his rival, Patrick Kauta, by a vote of 19 to 15.

The NFA has been plagued by infighting in recent years, which led FIFA to appoint two normalization committees to oversee the running of Namibian football.

These disagreements effectively brought the sport to a standstill for approximately three years.

One of the primary mandates of the normalisation committees was to organise a congress to elect new leadership for the NFA.

Shimooshili's election marks the beginning of a new chapter for Namibian football, but its success will hinge on the willingness of all football stakeholders to rally behind the new executive.

nbc spoke to both candidates prior to the election, and both pledged to respect the outcome of the vote and support the winning team.