Leemisa Thuseho
THE men’s netball national team will miss the 2021 South Africa Men’s Netball Championship, Lesotho Netball Association (LNA) public relations officer ‘Mamakebe Moshoeshoe has said.
The invitational is penned in for 11 to 16 April 2021 in North West province.
But Moshoeshoe said Lesotho will not fulfil the invitation due to the current suspension of sports in Lesotho due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
“We have decided not to send our team to the event after discussing with the team’s managers,” Moshoeshoe said.
“The reason behind the cancellation is the ongoing suspension of sporting activities which is deterring us from preparing the team.”
Last month Moshoeshoe said the trip was hanging in the balance due to the Covid-19 restrictions and also financial challenges.
She said they had hoped to approach the Lesotho Sport and Recreation Commission (LSRC) for financial assistance but instead, decided to cancel the trip.
“After cancelling the trip, we decided not to continue with our plans to approach the LSRC for help because it would be of no use.”
Since last year, the associations have been struggling financially so much that they failed to finish the 2019/20 domestic league.
The last time Lesotho was invited by Netball SA to the tournament was in November 2020 but Lesotho failed to honour the tournament due to similar challenges.
Lesotho’s last appearance in the tournament was in 2019. Even then, the team was facing serious financial challenges which forced players to dig from their own pockets to pay for accommodation and other logistics. The Lesotho National Olympic Committee (LNOC) only provided them with transport.
