PLMC General manager Baitsi Motsamai
Mikia Kalati
LOCAL football fans will on Saturday hold an awards ceremony to honour outstanding footballers in the 2016/2017 Vodacom Premier League season in a unique gesture aimed at uplifting the standards of the game in the country.
Lioli’s Tšoanelo Koetle, Hlompho Kalake of Bantu and Nzenze Nkulu who was on loan at Linare from Bantu are favourites to walk away with a trophy and M5000 prize money in the ceremony that will be held at Bambatha Tšita Sports Arena in Maseru.
A member of the Footballers Club, Moeketsi Rampai this week told the Lesotho Times that the initiative was conceived on their Facebook Page with fans contributing a minimum of M10 each since the end of the 2015/16 season in August last year.
He said they got approval from the Premier League Management committee (PLMC) and the Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) who gave them the nod to use the latter’s premises for the ceremony.
“We are just a group of Basotho men using a social media platform to discuss football matters,” Rampai said.
“So in August 2016 we all agreed to do our part in improving the standards of the game in the country by each contributing M10 a month which we are now going to hand over to the player that has been voted by our platform as the Premier League Player of the Season.
“This is to show sense of appreciation to the players for the efforts they put in week in and week out to entertain us.”
He said they would have loved to different categories but could not do so due to budgetary constraints.
“Everything is in place and we are waiting for Saturday to arrive where we will get to give more details about our group.
“Initially, the plan was to hand over the award during the Vodacom Premier League awards but that was not approved by the league sponsors,” he said.
PLMC General Manager Baitsi Motsamai confirmed that his office had been in contact with the Footballers Club about their initiative to reward an outstanding player from the 2016/17 season.
