Leemisa Thuseho
THE Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) ladies’ team will know it’s COSAFA group stages opponents when the draw is held today in Johannesburg.
The debut COSAFA club tournament will be held from 26 August to 4 September in South Africa.
The host city for the competition will also be unveiled on Thursday.
The seven-team field contains South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns, Double Action (Botswana), Manzini Wanderers (eSwatini), LDF (Lesotho), Turu Magic (Namibia), Green Buffaloes (Zambia) and Black Rhinos Queens (Zimbabwe).
The teams will be split into two groups, one with four and the other three sides. The top-two teams in each pool will advance to the semi-finals.
Talking to this publication this week LDF assistant coach Lire Phiri said they are ready for the draw.
“We are ready for the draw and because we don’t know much about most the teams in the competition, it is not easy for us to say which teams we would prefer in the group,” Phiri said.
“The only team we know about is Sundowns because some of their games are televised. Once we know our opponents, it will be easy for us to know which teams to focus more on while making our research.”
Phiri said the suspension of sporting activities in the country due to Covid-19 was a challenge for their preparations since they can no longer play friendlies.
However, he is confident that his players have what it takes to compete in the COSAFA tournament.
“We are working hard to get the team ready… I have faith in our players, they are fighters and I will be happy if we can pass the group stages as that will give them motivation even if they fail to make it to the finals.”
The competing teams will be out in full force hoping to win a place at the Total CAF Women’s Champions League later this year in Egypt.
The Total CAF Women’s Champion League is due to be staged later in the year and the COSAFA competition will serve as its qualifier, with the winner advancing to the continental competition.
