Moorosi Tsiane
THE Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) last week announced that the woman’s national team will not be enrolled for this year’s edition of the COSAFA Cup due to its disappointing performances in previous years.
This year’s edition is set for South Africa and will run from 15 to 26 September in Mandela Bay.
Last year, Mehalalitoe was humiliated 8-0 by Zambia in their first game before being thumped 9-0 by Malawi in the second game.
The Covid-19-induced challenges also discouraged the association from registering the team, according to association spokesperson, Mikia Kalati.
This is the second time that the side is missing the tournament. Two years ago, the side also missed the tournament.
Ever since the team started competing in international competitions, Mehalalitoe has disappointed and I believe LeFA has avoided dealing with the core problem. There is a sense of self-preservation by administrators whenever a team performs dismally.
Yes, the team has not been enrolled this year because it performed dismally last year but what is it that the association is doing to help women’s football improve? So little, I say.
When the team returns to international football next year, if it does, it will remain the same because nothing has been done to improve it.
LeFA can honestly do better. As things stand, what they are doing now is only shifting goal posts and avoiding the real problems.
Is it the solution to punish the team by not registering it for competitions each time it performs dismally?
Considering the low level of women’s football in Lesotho, what exactly is Mehalalitoe expected to do? The national team is just a clear reflection of our domestic league, after all, the bulk of the players are all based in Lesotho.
The same crop of players will be the one representing the country in the next edition of the tournament and we will be expecting different results. Surely, we can do better.
Also, if they are not thrown into the deep end, how are they expected to learn and improve? In recent years, Lesotho has managed to export a handful of players to South Africa and Zambia, thanks to their participation in the COSAFA Cup.
But now they are being denied a chance to showcase their talent. Will that really change our situation? I don’t think so and LeFA must be honest and attend to the real problems that women’s football is facing.
We cannot continue like this. We must do things differently.
