Moorosi Tsiane
THE Federation of Lesotho Rugby (FLR) has confirmed that the upcoming Rugby Africa Central Sevens penned in for 28 August to 1 September 2019 will take place at Bocheletsane Ground in Mantšonyane, Thaba-Tseka.
FLR was granted the opportunity to host the games last month but faced a challenge of coming up with a venue with participating countries saying the artificial turf at Setsoto Stadium was inappropriate.
Lesotho will host the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Burundi and Gabon in the tournament aimed at improving the teams’ Rugby Africa rankings.
FLR chief executive officer Litšitso Motšeremeli said they agreed with the Matekane Group of Companies (MGC) to use the ground for free while they would cater for food and accommodation for the participants.
“We are happy with the opportunity to host the tournament and we are also grateful to MGC for agreeing to partner us by availing their Bocheletsane Ground for the games,” Motšeremeli said.
“This entails that the costs of hosting the games have been reduced. Instead of paying for the ground, we now only have to cater for the participants’ food and accommodation.”
He also said in line with their desire to develop the sport, they have decided to send six development coaches to Thaba-Tseka where they are tasked with training local teams.
“It is our chance to also expand the sport and make it known country wide, so we have decided to send six coaches to Thaba-Tseka. Three will be in Mantšonyane while the other three will be in Thaba-Tseka training teams which will be playing between the games during the tournament,” he said.
This will be the second Africa Rugby tournament to be hosted by Lesotho after last year’s 15-aside.