Mikia Kalati
Lesotho Football Association (Lefa) general secretary, Mokhosi Mohapi, has welcomed the return of the Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) Senior Challenge next year.
The regional tournament, which is normally held towards the end of the year, would not take place this time around due to lack of sponsorship.
The competition was last held in 2013 and won by hosts Zambia who beat Zimbabwe 2-0 in the final. Lesotho lost 4-3 to South Africa on penalties in the third-place playoff.
However, the regional body announced last weekend that South Africa would host the tournament in May 2015.
“The announcement was good news to the region because its absence this year—as well as that of the under-20s—has not gone down well with just us but the rest of the Cosafa members. Even the regional body was also not happy with the absence of the tournament, which is why the organisation’s marketing team was working so hard to make sure it returns.
Mohapi further said Cosafa was currently working on hosting numerous competitions to improve the standard of the game in southern Africa, including women’s football.
“This time, the Cosafa leaders are planning bigger things, including a championship for clubs from this region,” said Mohapi.
“Member-countries were given the chance to bid to host the competition, which showed that they want to host it annually the way it used to happen in the past,” said Mohapi.
“The return of the competition is a big boost for football in member-countries as far as development is concerned as it also helps players acquire international exposure.
“We welcome it with both hands and are looking forward to both competitions next year, since the under-20 tournament would also be taking place in Zambia towards the end of the year.”
Mohapi further said Lefa was working on ensuring the country registers for all available competitions from now on.
“Look, things did not go well for us in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, but we have to be honest about it that lack of resources played a part in our team not doing well,” Mohapi added.
“We are mapping the way forward to rectify the mistakes we might have made in this campaign and we will not blame the players for whatever happened regarding their performance.”
