Mikia Kalati
THE Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) has appointed Kick4Life head coach, Bob Mafoso, as the new national under-20 team head coach to succeed Leslie Notši who is now the technical director at the association.
Mafoso takes over from the veteran coach having also replaced him as the Kick4Life coach at the start of this season.
Mafoso, who on Monday began his preparations for the upcoming under-20 COSAFA Cup to be staged in Zambia in December 2018, told this publication that he feels honoured to get such a huge responsibility.
He will work with Sefotha-fotha coach, Bafokeng Mohapi, as his assistant and the team will also play at the Durban Friendship Soccer Tournament before they travel to Zambia.
“For me, getting such a huge responsibility shows growth so I am very excited and I appreciate the opportunity,” Mafoso said.
“It’s a challenge for me to work harder but at the same time it does not mean that I’m better than the other coaches.
“We all have a responsibility to play a part in the growth of football in this country and I’m happy to play a part and to test myself as a national team coach.”
Mafoso said in his squad, he has seven players who were part of the side that lost to South Africa in the COSAFA final last year who are still eligible to play this year.
“We have seven players from last year’s team who are still eligible and we need at least 12 to make the team.
“We have challenges in identifying players in this age group in the country but we have widened the net country-wide to ensure that we have a big pool of players.
“We have spoken to all our contacts at the clubs to get as many players as we can and our door remains open to talented players in the age group,” he said.
Mafoso said he would only succeed with the support from other coaches and all other stakeholders in the football fraternity in his new journey as the under-20 coach.
“My door is always open for suggestions from all stakeholders involved in the beautiful game as long as it’s for the good of team.
“This why we are speaking publicly about our selection criteria so that everyone knows all the details about the team.
“Unfortunately, it’s impossible to get all the players from around the country since we have very limited time. On the other hand, we are confident we have been tracking all the players who are part of the team and we are confident that they will give us what we are looking for at COSAFA,” Mafoso said.
