—But he remains optimistic about the potential success of Lesotho football
Leemisa Thuseho
LESOTHO Football Association (LeFA) president, Advocate Salemane Phafane, who recently put Lesotho on the world map with his election to FIFA’s prestigious Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee, is worried about the state of football in Lesotho and the lack of support for the sport.
Adv Phafane, who previously served a four-year term on the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, was elected to the new role during the 75th FIFA Congress held in Asunción, Paraguay on May 15, 2025.
The Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee is one of the most crucial committees in assisting the FIFA council on the organizations financial, governance and compliance matters.
In a recent exclusive interview with the Lesotho Times from his LeFA headquarters office, his first since his election, Adv Phafane said he was he is humbled by the election judging by the number of 186 votes in favour as against the two who voted against him and his colleagues in the committee.
He said this was a huge indictment on them to deliver on the mandate given to them by the international football community.
“When I was elected into the FIFA Disciplinary Committee four years back, I thought that was the climax,” Adv Phafane said.
“So, I did not even dream or anticipate that one day I will serve in a more prestigious, elaborate and busier committee.”
While Adv Phafane acknowledged that his new role requires him to serve football globally, he believes the experience will benefit Lesotho football in the future.
“Whenever you are elected to a higher position you become a better person…When elected into previous committees I served, I thought I knew it all, but I continued learning until the world realised that I have learnt enough and I can lead in world football.”
Adv Phafane, who has served in various capacities at COSAFA, CAF, and FIFA, told the Lesotho Times that the skills he had acquired over time had helped transform the LeFA “into an organized, dynamic, and compliant organization”.
“While we may stumble at times, we are generally among the most compliant organizations, not only in COSAFA and Africa, but in the world,” Adv Phafane said. “We are not boasting, but we prioritize good governance in everything we do.”
Challenges
While the LeFA is working to uphold the standard of football in the country, it faces major challenges including a comatose economy, limited player pool, lack of infrastructure, and insufficient government support, Adv Phafane said.
Three years ago, LeFA embarked on a mission to build training centres in districts across Lesotho using FIFA funding. Centres have since been established in Maseru, Leribe, and Mohale’s Hoek.
The association has also acquired land in Quthing, Qacha’s Nek, Berea, and Thaba-Tseka for additional centres, but the FIFA funding for these projects is currently on hold.
“FIFA has a policy of funding infrastructure projects in countries where the senior national teams play their home games in their home territories and not in foreign soil as it is the case now,” Adv Phafane said.
“In Lesotho’s case, where the national teams have to play home games on foreign soil due to the unavailability of CAF-approved grounds, FIFA has halted the infrastructure funding.”
Adv Phafane stressed that this was a major setback, as quality infrastructure is crucial for improving Lesotho’s football.
He appealed to the government to fulfill its responsibilities and support the development of football and sports in the country.
“The government should have empathy for Basotho children who play football,” Adv Phafane said. “For many years, the government of Lesotho has neglected its duty to fund football and sports in general.”
International Competitions
Due to a lack of funding and unavailability of stadiums to host international matches, LeFA is greatly concerned that it is struggling to enrol all its league champions in all international competitions due to scarce resources. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
According to Adv Phafane, this decision has negatively impacted the growth of football in the country.
“Having no team going for CAF Champions League has decreased competitiveness of football and it also denies our players international exposure,” Adv Phafane lamented.
Adv Phafane expressed frustration that politicians in Lesotho often misuse football for political gain, organizing tournaments as campaign strategies before elections, but then neglect the sport once in office.
“This is unfortunate behaviour by our politicians. They misuse or abuse football. Whenever elections are approaching, they start organising soccer tournaments using them as one of their campaigning strategies, but once they are in government they forget about the sport…We are finding a solution to that, it will soon come to an end,” Adv Phafane said.
The LeFA president acknowledged that Lesotho’s small population and struggling economy “make it challenging to thrive in football”.
“With the current status of our economy it is difficult to secure sponsors, and we have to solely depend on FIFA and CAF funding. But there are some companies who are trying their best as they continue to sponsor our league and tournaments, and we hope slowly we will get there,” he said.
“The other disadvantage is the limited population we must select players from as compared to other countries with big populations. To combat that challenge we have started searching and calling foreign based players who have roots in Lesotho to come and join our national teams.”
Strategic Plan
In 2023, the LeFA developed a strategic plan for 2023-2026.
One of the key goals was to see the national teams, especially the senior men’s team, Likuena, qualify for major tournaments like the African Nations Championship (CHAN) or the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
However, this objective has not yet been achieved.
Two of Lesotho’s national teams have nonetheless reached the COSAFA final.
In 2023, the senior men’s team, Likuena, made it to the final, and in 2024, the Under-17 women’s team, Lishoeshoe, also reached the COSAFA final.
One of the primary goals of LeFA’s strategy is to enhance the football experience for all stakeholders, including players, coaches, referees, administrators, and fans at all levels.
To achieve this, LeFA plans to work with partners to establish football academies, coaching clinics, and capacity-building programs to ensure the continuous development of football in the country.
LeFA has already taken a significant step in this direction by establishing the country’s first-ever football academy.
The academy has recruited 33 under-13 players, who are enrolled at Sacred Heart High School in Leribe, where they are pursuing their studies while receiving comprehensive football training and development.
“The academy is a huge achievement, and we are looking forward to having more,” Advocate Phafane said.
“We are the second after Malawi to have this kind of project in the region and the first to do it before arrival of FIFA funding.”
Adv Phafane also highlighted other achievements during the current strategic plan period, including assistant referee Souru Phatšoane’s inclusion to officiate at the Olympic and World Cup games.
“We are moving at the right pace to achieve the targets we have set, but we can do better,” Adv Phafane said, expressing optimism about the association’s progress.
Adv Phafane acknowledged that while the country is excelling in other areas, its national teams have struggled to achieve success on the international stage.
“In almost every department we can safely say we are doing well, but where we are not doing well is in the field of play,” Phafane said, adding the association was doing its best to address this challenge.
Adv Phafane noted that Lesotho has been consistently exporting talent to foreign leagues in recent seasons, which he sees as a positive development.
However, he expressed concern over the lack of a robust and successful football ecosystem in the country.
The LeFA president said the association trains coaches to meet the market demand for qualified and licensed professionals but complained these coaches were not being put to efficient use by clubs.
According to Adv Phafane, some clubs in the country are engaging in fraudulent coaching practices. While Lesotho has a good number of CAF A-licensed coaches, Adv Phafane revealed that certain clubs prefer to borrow coaching licenses from top coaches just to meet registration and licensing requirements.
However, the actual coaching duties on the ground are often carried out by lower-licensed coaches, which Adv Phafane described as “fraud.” He explained that “teams will list a CAF A-licensed coach as their official head coach for compliance purposes, but the day-to-day coaching responsibilities are handled by less qualified staff”.
Adv Phafane continued, “This happens in a way that a team borrows a licence from a particular CAF A-licensed coach to appear as their coach in the registration system, but only to find out that is only for compliance, the actual work continues to be done by a lower-licensed coach.”
This practice raises concerns about the quality of coaching and player development in Lesotho’s football clubs, as teams are not adhering to the required coaching standards set by the LeFA.
Under-23 national team
Adv Phafane also addressed the absence of the Under-23 national team, which he said could have served as a feeder to the senior team.
He attributed this to lack of support from the government and the Lesotho National Olympic Committee (LNOC).
“Under-23 team is mainly assembled for Olympic Games, and that says having an Under-23 will require massive support from LNOC, but I do not remember them fulfilling such responsibility even at once. So, it will be difficult for us to maintain such a team on our own,” Adv Phafane explained.
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