…says country needs to invest in soccer development
…calls for cooperation from club coaches
Leemisa Thuseho
AFTER another failed bid to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, Likuena coach, Leslie Notši, has reflected on the major factors hindering the progress of Lesotho football.
He bemoaned the lack of investment in football development, the continued reliance on amateur and semi-professional clubs for national team players, and the country’s ongoing struggle to export players to professional and competitive leagues.
Likuena ended their 2026 World Cup Qualifying campaign on a high note with a 1–0 victory over Zimbabwe at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium on Monday this week.
In 10 matches, Lesotho won three, lost four and drew three.
Likuena’s qualifying journey
The campaign, which began in 2023 under Notši, started on a promising note when Lesotho held African powerhouse Nigeria to a 1–1 draw in their opening match in November 2023. Later that month, Likuena collected another point from a goalless draw against Benin.
In June 2024, Lesotho recorded their first win of the qualifiers, beating Zimbabwe 2–0, but later that month suffered a 1–0 loss to Rwanda.
The struggles continued in March 2025, with a 2–0 defeat to South Africa.
However, that result was subsequently overturned after South Africa was found guilty of fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, who had accumulated two yellow cards. As a result, South Africa forfeited the match and Lesotho was awarded a 3–0 victory.
In the same month of March, Likuena drew 1–1 with Rwanda, but their performance later dipped, as the team suffered 3–0, 4–0, and 2–1 defeats to South Africa, Benin, and Nigeria, respectively.
They only bounced back to end the campaign with a morale-boosting 1-0 win over Zimbabwe on Monday.
As it stands, Lesotho sits fourth in their six-member group with 12 points.
Lack of consistency has been one of the major setbacks for Likuena throughout the qualifiers. The country will now have to wait until 2030 for another chance to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in history.
Hindrances to international success
Reflecting on the campaign, Notši said while there is abundant talent in Lesotho, several challenges continue to hinder progress.
Among them he noted that Lesotho’s premier league remains largely amateurish, which limits the national team’s competitiveness against countries whose players mostly feature in top professional leagues across the world.
“Truly speaking, our football in Lesotho is not professional. Maybe we can say we are semi-professional, but some teams are just amateurs,” Notši said.
“Most of our national team players come from such (amateur) teams, so there’s a lot of work that needs to be done for us to improve on consistency.”
Having spent most of his life in football — as a player, administrator, and coach — Notši believes that greater investment in youth development is the key to transforming Lesotho’s football.
“There’s a lot of talent in Lesotho, and I think all we need to do is invest more in youth development. That’s the only way,” he said.
“We should not only focus on the end result. Our premier league teams should have developmental structures. We see other countries investing heavily in youth development, and they are reaping good results.”
He further blamed poor infrastructure as a significant barrier to progress. Without a proper stadium that meets international standards, Likuena have been forced to play their “home” matches on foreign soil.
Looking forward
As part of efforts to address these challenges, Notši said he plans to engage local club coaches in discussions aimed at developing a long-term strategy for improvement.
“For us to improve on consistency, we must engage local coaches. We will sit down with them, share our analysis of all the matches we have played, and discuss how each stakeholder can contribute to improving the situation,” he explained.
He stressed the importance of regular competitive matches to strengthen the team’s quality and mental resilience.
“I think if the team plays more matches — especially against stronger opponents — it will help us improve. We’ll suffer, yes, but that’s the only way we can grow,” Notši said.
