esotho’s 2 023
AfricaCupof Nations
qualifyingprogramme
promisestobean
arduousaffairasthe
southernAfrican
nationis likelytohavetoplayall
sixmatches away fromhome.
Lesothohavebeendrawnin
GroupHwithIvoryCoast,Zambiaand
ComorosafterbeatingtheSeychelles
inthepreliminaryround.Bothofthose
gameshadtobeplayedat neutral
venuesasneithersidehadaground
thatmeets FIFA’sstadiarules.
SeychelleshostedLesothoin
Mauritiusforthefirst leg,whichfinished
0-0.Thereturnwasat theDobsonville
StadiuminSowetowhereLesothowon
3- 1 withabracefromKatlehoMakateng
andagoalfromSeraMotebang.
Thewinwas
apositivestart for
SerbianVeselinJelusic,whobeatmore
than 100 otherapplicants totheLesotho
jobinFebruaryandfacessomehuge
challenges.Lesothodidnotwinasingle
gameinthelast AFCONqualifiers
despiteplayingathomeinMaseru.
Thistimearound,thereareunlikely
tobeanyhomegames.
LFAdeputysecretarygeneral Chris
Bullockexplains:“As it stands,there
isnochanceofusplayingathome.
Thegovernmentisnotinapositionto
renovateournationalstadium,which
doesn’tmeet FIFArequirements.”
In 20 20,a2.4billionRand
(justover£ 120 million)projectto
buildanewnationalstadium,indoor
sportsarenaandathletesvillage
forLesothocollapsedafterthe
HomelessLesotho
faceuncertainfuture
WithnonationalstadiumthatmeetsFIFAstandards,
LesothohavebeenforcedtoplayinSouthAfrica
governmentcancelledcontroversial
loanstoaSouthAfricancompany
todelivertheproject.
TheSetsotoStadiuminMaserucan
accommodate 2 0,000fansbutneeds
upgrading,whichmeansthatLesotho
arelikelytohavetocontinueplaying
inSoweto. Playingtherewillhave
consequencesonandoffthepitch.
“It’safive-sixhourdrivetothe
DobsonvilleStadiumandthatwill
affectthenumberofsupportersthat
cancome,iftheycancomeat all,”
addsBullock.
“There’s alot of costsinvolvedand
ifthegovernmentdonotrenovatethe
stadiumbynextMarch,wewillhave
threegamesinSouthAfricainaddition
tothethreeawayqualifyinggames.
Thatmightaffectwhetherweenter
COSAFA[CouncilofSouthernAfrica
Football Associations]orCHAN
[AfricaNationsChampionship].”
Withdrawingfromeither or both
tournamentstofocusonthe 2023
AFCONqualifierswouldbeamajor
blow.TheCOSAFAtournamentisdue
tobeheldinDurbanfromJuly5-17,
whilethenextCHAN–atournament
exclusivelyforAfrican-basedplayers
- hasbeendelayeduntil January
2023 , thoughqualifyingwillneed
totakeplacethisyear.
Lesotho’s largelyhome-basedsquad
wouldstandabetter chanceofwinning
matches inthelatter. Jelusichasonly
ahandfulofoverseasplayers–striker
MasoabiNkotocurrentlyplaysinGeorgia
forMeraniMartvilli andforwardThabiso
Brownis inBoliviawithAurora–with
neighbouringSouthAfricathemain
destinationforplayersfromLesotho.
Captain
Tshwarelo
Berengplays
forMarumo
Gallants
andstriker
Motebang
joinedLamontvilleGoldenArrows.
Asthingsstand,SouthAfricaisalso
likelytobeahomefor Jelusic’s teamas
Lesothostrivetomeetthedemands
ofinternationalparticipation.
L
Lesothoskipper...
TshwareloBereng
Photocredit:LFA
Temporary
home...the
Dobsonville
Stadium in
Soweto
Lesotho
STEVEMENARY
“Asitstands,thereisnochance
ofusplayingathome”
ChrisBullock,LesothoFootballAssociation
88 WORLDSOCCER
