MASERU — The Lesotho Coaching Association (LCA) is in shambles with the football organisation struggling to retain membership since allegations of financial embezzlement surfaced.
A senior official with the LCA told the Lesotho Times that most local coaches were reluctant to be part of the organisation fearing their subscription fees would be “misused”.
“People used to pay membership fees without even knowing how the money was spent and they are now reluctant to register,” LCA vice-secretary Moorosi Makhofola said.
The LCA at its peak had nearly 80 members but now only around 25 are affiliated with the organisation.
Members each pay an annual subscription fee of M20.
“The membership has drastically declined for the past years and we are now working hard to at least increase the numbers by 90 percent,” Makhofola said.
He blamed the “mess” on the LCA’s first committee which came into office when the organisation was set up in 2004.
“It is true that there is a huge mess within the coaching association which was caused by the association’s former committee,” he alleged.
“The committee misused coaches’ membership fees without even reporting back to them.
“It is however not easy to step in and clean other people’s mess.”
Makhofola said there was no handover-takeover when the current committee came into office in 2008.
“We can’t even trace how a single cent of every membership fee collected was spent because there are no reports or even some records,” he said.
“There was no handover when we entered the office.
“We don’t even know if our bank account is working but we were once advised to open a new one.”
Local coaches say they don’t find any benefit in joining the LCA.
Since its establishment, the LCA has only managed to send two of its members, Makhofola and Tele Nts’onyane, to a Confederation of African Football coaching course in Egypt.
Last month the organisation also held meeting to encourage local coaches to attain coaching licences.
