MASERU— Lesotho Institute of Sports Association (Lisa) Under 17 football team has been included in Team Lesotho to the Supreme Council of Sports in Africa (SCSA) after winning gold in Namibia last month.
SCSA games are scheduled for Lusaka, Zambia from December 4 – 18. Lesotho will be represented in netball, tennis, boxing, athletics and disabled athletes and football. Football was initially excluded from team Lesotho until after an impressive performance at the Confederation of School Sport Associations in Southern Africa (Cossasa) in Namibia.
Lesotho Sports and Recreation Commission (LSRC) public relations officer Jobo Raswoko told the Sunday Express the golden boys will now make up Team Lesotho to Zambia. “During its setting last night (Wednesday), the commission advised itself accordingly and will now include Lisa Under 17 football team as one of the sporting codes representing Lesotho in SCSA games,” Raswoko said on Thursday.
He said football has been included in the team because they are hoping the sporting code will help Lesotho bring more medals from SCSA games. “It is pretty clear that their form is in good shape and they will be one of the key sporting codes to win more medals for their country given that they have just defeated their southern region counterparts,” he said.
The Under 17 football team, Raswoko said, will also fuel the spirit within Team Lesotho because they are going into the games with dignity after their recent good performance in Namibia.
He said they are also going to join other sporting codes reporting for a one-week Independence holidays training camp today.
“They are certainly going to join the rest of Team Lesotho when they report for camp on Sunday,” he said. He said collecting more medals from these games will help his committee to end their five-year term in style. The current committee’s tenure is ending next year.
In a separate interview on Friday, Lisa public relations officer Letsatsi Ntsibolane said this is a morale booster for the players.
“Obviously the players will be motivated as they will now be given good allowances as compared to the M30 they each received when they went to Namibia,” Ntsibolane said. “And if they will display their talent the same way they did in Namibia, then it will give them a platform to earn points to their name and win gold for the country as well as make them one of the best feeders for Likuena,”
he said.
He said they were also happy that their effort has finally paid off. “It is also a motivation in a sense that one of our cries was how the players were going to be given the opportunity to grow by being exposed to more international stages after their Namibian win and we are happy with this decision,” he said.
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