MASERU – Makoanyane XI’s players are set to undergo rigorous medical tests at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria next month.
The tests are part of the team’s preparations for Caf Under-20 Youth Championships in South Africa next month.
The tournament is scheduled to run from April 17 to May 2.
Caf has demanded that the eight competing countries provide each player’s lungs, heart and blood tests to determine their health status prior to the tournament.
The Lesotho Football Association (Lefa) says it will spend over M350 000 on travel and accommodation to Pretoria.
The amount does not include the team’s other expenses such as allowances, camping at Bambatha Tsita sports arena and international friendly matches.
Makoanyane XI’s preparations for the tournament were put on hold after the games were postponed indefinitely due to political unrest in Libya.
Caf last week announced that it was moving the tournament to South Africa
Makoanyane XI are in a difficult group which comprises hosts South Africa, Mali and Egypt in the preliminary round.
Team manager Khiba Mohoanyane confirmed these developments in an interview with the Lesotho Times on Tuesday.
“We’ve finished drafting our programme for Makoanyane XI team. The programme is still waiting for approval by the executive committee,” Mohoanyane said. The team’s training camp will resume next week at Bambatha Tsita.
“Next week we are going to resume our normal training camp at Bambatha until the games start.
“After a week we will leave for Pretoria to conduct individual tests at the High Performance Centre.
“In between we are proposing two to three friendly matches,” Mohoanyane said.
He however said it was not easy to keep the team together because of the players’ school commitments.
“Schooling is a big challenge on its own because these players should be in class,” Mohoanyane said.
“The tournament is long and keeping them two weeks away from school is stressing but we usually work closely with their teachers.”
