Moorosi Tsiane

IT never rains but pours for Lioli after the Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) on Thursday announced that the six-time premier league champions will have to resolve internal power struggles before accessing the Covid-19 relief fund.

Lioli has been in the headlines in the past few weeks as fights between the now ousted interim committee led by Lephethasang Hlajoane Lesaoana and new president Lebohang Thotanyana and chief patron, Chief Sempe Masupha.

So bitter were the fights that Lesaoana and his group approached the courts to interdict Thotanyana from interfering in the team’s affairs. This after Thotanyana and allies wrote to Lioli’s sponsors and tenants to stop remitting sponsorship funds because the interim committee had overstayed.

Although Lesaoana and co gave an excuse that the elections were being barred by the Covid-19 regulations.

The team eventually went for elections last month and Thotanyana was re-elected president a year after resigning from the post.

However, there is still a pending case before the District Football Association (DIFA) Berea challenging the legitimacy of the new committee and LeFA says it will withhold Lioli’s funds until that matter is finalised.

LeFA announced that it will be distributing M80 000 Covid-19 relief funds to all premier league teams.

“LeFA regrets to inform Lioli FC that it will not release its Covid-19 relief funds due to the ongoing power struggle between two committees led by Lephethasang Hlajoane Lesaoana and Lebohang Thotanyana,” a LeFA statement reads.

“LeFA will, in the meantime, keep the funds safe in its coffers and will only release them once the issues between the two groups have been resolved.

“Both groups are claim to be the legitimate leadership of the club. We will wait until the issue has been resolved by our judicial bodies (DIFA Berea DISPROCO).”

Fourteen Econet Premier League clubs have been allocated M1,12 million by LeFA with each team getting M80 000 while the PostBank A Division clubs will share M800 000 equally.