Leemisa Thuseho
SOFTBALL teams, both male and female, will today converge at the Mabote Police Ground in Maseru for the 2026 Lesotho Softball Masters Tournament.
Organised by the Lesotho Baseball and Softball Association (LBSA), the annual tournament has attracted teams from Botswana, South Africa and host nation Lesotho.
This marks the second edition of the competition following its successful inaugural staging last year. The tournament will conclude on Saturday.
Botswana will field four men’s teams and three women’s teams, while South Africa will be represented by five men’s teams.
Despite hosting the event, Lesotho will have only three teams taking part — Kings Softball Club in the men’s category and Queens Masters Softball Club and Maseru Royals in the women’s division.
LBSA public relations officer, ‘Mamakhamise Thulo, said the tournament is open to players aged 35 and above.
She said the event is aimed at promoting continued participation by veteran players while also strengthening relationships among softball players from participating countries.
Explaining Lesotho’s limited representation, Thulo said softball remains relatively unpopular in the country, particularly among older players.
“Softball is still not popular in Lesotho and many people do not fully understand the sport, but the association is working hard to grow it,” Thulo told the Lesotho Times.
“Another challenge is that the equipment is very expensive. Although we still have teams such as Gills, B Killers, Gladiators and Royal, most of them do not have enough players above the age of 35 to compete in the masters tournament.”
Thulo said the association was looking forward to hosting a high-quality tournament with support from sponsors including Econet Telecom Lesotho, Econo, Sentebale Funeral Gap, Blue Ribbon, Hlokomela Banana and GWM Haval.
South African teams participating are Flames, Moletsane Texas, Variants, Jumpers and Brewers.
Botswana will be represented by KDK Softball (men), Orapa Masters (men and women), Softball Dads (men), Diamonds (men and women) and Saints (women).
