Moorosi Tsiane
PREMIER League Management Committee (PLMC) public relations officer Moeketsi Ramakatsa has cleared the air over the confusion caused by the clashing of the dates for the Alliance Winter Challenge (AWC) and the Econet Soccer Spectacular (ESS) tournaments.
The two competitions, which are both played by premier league teams, were launched early this month. However, some of the fixtures clashed as they were penned in for the same dates and venue.
The AWC was launched on 2 July this year while the ESS was launched three days later.
The AWC is played by three teams sponsored by Alliance Insurance Company and one guest team and it was initially scheduled for 31 August and 1 September at Setsoto Stadium.
On the other hand, the ESS is a four-team tournament played by premier league teams which are voted into the competition by their supporters. This year the competition will start on 24 August with the finals set for a week later at Setsoto Stadium.
The finals would have clashed with the AWC which was meant to start on 31 August.
However, Ramakatsa told the Lesotho Times on Monday that they have already attended to the issue and are nearing a resolution.
“What happened is that the PLMC was unaware of the AWC when we were preparing for the ESS, Ramakatsa said.
“We have however, approached Alliance and advised them to look for new dates on which they can hold their tournament and they have already proposed 17 and 18 August.”
He said the confusion was caused by miscommunication between the Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) and PLMC regarding the preparations for the AWC. He said the letter from Alliance reached the LeFA secretary general’s office on time but delayed reaching the PLMC.
“The letter reached us when we had already set the dates for the ESS with Econet, in the meantime, Alliance had already launched its tournament.
“Actually, all the arrangements for the ESS tournament were made by the LeFA secretary general’s office so, we couldn’t change the dates but the only option was to move the AWC to new dates.”
He said the confusion was only caused by lack of proper communication and not sabotage as they will do all they can to ensure the satisfaction of sponsors.
“We always want to ensure that our relations with the corporate sector are smooth because it is through their funds that local football can grow. It is unfortunate that we ended up having such a situation but we have explained everything to Alliance and they understood,” Ramakatsa said.
