Leemisa Thuseho
MINISTER of Tourism, Sports, Arts and Culture, Motlatsi Maqelepo, has confirmed that Lesotho wants to join South Africa and other Southern African countries in a joint bid to co-host the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
South Africa, which is leading the bid, has already announced its willingness to co-host the tournament with Namibia and Botswana. In recent developments, South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, revealed that Lesotho and Mozambique had also shown interest in being part of the joint bid.
“We will be putting our official intention to host it, and we want to host it with Namibia and Botswana. Lesotho has now sent me a letter saying they also want to be part of it, as well as Mozambique. The more, the merrier. We can share the games, but for me, Southern Africa — it is our time,” McKenzie said while addressing South African media recently.
Lesotho’s leadership had remained quiet on the matter, with the nation only learning of the developments from the South African side. Expectations were high that the government would publicly address the issue, outline its plans, and clarify Lesotho’s role and responsibilities in the proposed joint bid.
However, in an interview with the Lesotho Times this week, Maqelepo confirmed that Lesotho had formally written to South Africa expressing interest in being included in the bid.
“We have made a request to them (South Africa) to consider Lesotho’s inclusion in the bid,” Maqelepo said.
The move has raised eyebrows, with many questioning Lesotho’s capacity to co-host Africa’s biggest football tournament, given that the country currently does not have a single stadium that meets CAF and FIFA standards. Setsoto Stadium, the national stadium, was banned from hosting international matches in 2021 for failing to meet required standards, forcing Lesotho to host its home matches in neighbouring countries, mostly South Africa.
Maqelepo said the government was still awaiting a formal response from South Africa but believes that a successful bid could serve as a catalyst for upgrading Lesotho’s stadium infrastructure to meet international standards.
“Should we get positive feedback…, we can use one stadium and prepare others as training facilities. In a co-hosting model, the involved countries select their cities to host matches. In this case, South African cities would host some games, while Gaborone, Windhoek and Maseru would also host.”
He added that processes to upgrade Setsoto Stadium were already underway.
“We hope that within a period of two years we will be able to complete the upgrade,” Maqelepo said.
The minister believes that co-hosting AFCON would not only generate national excitement but also boost the economy, particularly the hospitality sector, which would be a key beneficiary if Lesotho were to host matches.
While acknowledging the country’s ongoing economic challenges, Maqelepo said the move reflects positive and forward-thinking planning by his ministry.
AFCON 2027 will be hosted by East African nations Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania under a joint hosting arrangement.
