FOR nearly six decades since independence, Lesotho’s sporting sector has struggled to progress, largely due to insufficient government commitment.
While various factors have contributed to these challenges, the lack of sustained support from authorities remains the most significant obstacle.
The government’s responsibilities in advancing sports are straightforward: provide adequate funding, develop necessary infrastructure, and implement effective policies to guide the management and growth of sports and recreation, among other things.
However, these responsibilities are often neglected. Politicians typically highlight their support for sports only during election campaigns, using it as a tool to win votes but offering little follow-through once elected.
Salemane Phafane, President of the Lesotho Football Association (LeFA), recently criticized this trend in an interview with the Sunday Express’s sister publication, the Lesotho Times.
He condemned politicians for exploiting football, particularly by organizing tournaments as part of their campaign strategies before elections or to celebrate their birthdays , only to abandon the sport once in office.
Advocate Phafane was right. This cycle of manipulation is evident whenever elections near: politicians become visibly involved in football activities for publicity, but government support quickly evaporates after the votes are cast. The most telling sign of this lack of commitment is the absence of a CAF-approved stadium in Lesotho, which prevents the country from hosting international matches and further hinders the development of local sports.
Lesotho’s only proper national sports facility, Setsoto Stadium, has been closed since 2021 due to its poor condition, and the government still hasn’t resolved the issue. As a result, national teams—especially the senior soccer team, Likuena—are forced to play international matches abroad, which is extremely costly.
The lack of a functional stadium has also caused FIFA to stop funding projects for building technical centers around the country, since their policy is to support infrastructure in nations where national teams play their home games at home—not in a foreign land, as Lesotho does now.
While the country’s struggling economy makes things harder, the government’s lack of attention to sports adds to the problem. Football isn’t the only sport affected—many sports suffer from political neglect.
Ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, marathon runners Mokulubete Makatisi and Tebello Ramakongoana were each promised M50,000 by Motlatsi Maqelepo, the Minister of Tourism, Sports, Arts and Culture.
Yet, they still haven’t received the money. This is just one example of how our athletes are mistreated, while the government remains silent—until it’s time for these same athletes to represent the country again.
Minister Maqelepo also heavily promoted the so-called “Lesotho’s richest marathon”—the Mountain Marathon 21 in Qacha’s Nek last October—but even now, the winners, including Ramakongoana (who won M150,000), have not been paid.
This is not only embarrassing, it is disgraceful.
The government’s funding for sports through the Lesotho Sports and Recreation Commission (LSRC)—responsible for sports development—is woefully inadequate. The LSRC received only M12 million in the latest budget cycle. This measly figure must be divided among 36 national sports associations. This means each association, including LeFA, gets just M40,000 a year—barely enough to cover a single training camp for Likuena.
How long will it take for the government to understand that sports can be one key sector for economic growth? Are they not aware that sports can be a source of pride for this country and even play a vital role in curbing the high rate of youth unemployment?
The government must fulfil its responsibility of supporting and investing in the development of sports in the country. Its failure thus far, as highlighted by Advocate Phafane, is not only unacceptable, it’s criminal.