By Thandiwe Kubere
MASERU – Majantja Football Club in the weekend held a media briefing on the selection and welcoming of their new committee and new coach for their team.
The handover from the former to the new leadership was declared to be a smooth one for the first time in a long time because the team had previously went through internal squabbles of executive members which eventually led to others abruptly leaving the team without giving any time for preparation for others to get into the leadership roles and thus disturbing the growth and progress of the team.
However, despite the challenges encountered by the team, the committee has declared to have been making countless effort to see to it that there is growth and that Majantja performs well throughout the football season. This is one of the reasons it was decided to bring in fresh and new ideas on board to take the club even further with the assistance of the new committee and coach.
The committee consists of the team President Moeti Lekhooana, his deputy Phomolo Mantutle, secretary general Lits’itso Thamae, acting treasure Mokhahlo Mohale, directing general manager Simon Tsemane, team manager Morena Lits’iba and the new head coach Bafokeng Mohapi.
The President of the club, Moeti Lekhooana assured that they, as the current committee, will do everything in their abilities to ensure the progress and well-functioning of the team. “We neither came here to play or to visit, we came here to work.”Majantja is one of the teams with a highest fan base and support, unfortunately when things do not go accordingly and it does not perform as well as expected, it loses its fan base intensely. Therefore we have to do all it takes, do everything within our abilities and seek help from those who can do even better than us to lead the team in the right direction. It is also our responsibility to make sure the team is restored to its glory and gains the attraction it deserves.”
He further assured that his years of experience on the field will contribute immensely to his proactivity because he knows the team needs more action than words to succeed. He declared that the committee will portray team work ethic because greater things are achieved through unity. “The first step we are going to take is to mend the broken relationship between different branches of the team and make sure there is no division, such that they work harmoniously together towards the same vision, which is the growth and success of the team. To achieve this, we will have to come up with a clear plan of allocation of different responsibilities such that each branch knows where they come in, in order to prevent clashes from occurring.
The handover comes with the team’s countless efforts of securing a spot in the coming premier league. In his remarks, the former president of Majantja FC, Katiso Mohlalisi congratulated the new committee and encouraged it to ensure the team’s progress and to always put the interests of the team before their own. “I stand here today, and having been with the team for some time now and it is my first time I experience such a peaceful handover from one leadership to the next and this shows we have now reached a certain level of maturity. I am grateful to the new committee as well for deeming it essential that I be present and allowing me a platform to share my sentiments about this. You have my full support and I am willing to walk this journey with you”, he said.
Mohlalisi also advised the current committee to prepare and be aware that there are a couple of challenges facing the team. He deliberated that it is not upon the new committee to go back to the community and reignite the love for the team and to seek support from the branches because they are important for the well-functioning and progress of the team, essential to create revenue as well as attracting more sponsorship. He further declared that leadership is not easy and the leader will not be loved by everyone because some people will always try to find fault with him but he should not be discouraged whatsoever and shift his focus from the vision.
Mohlalisi traces one of his achievement as leading the club and working diligently throughout his term. People can only assume being a leader is about giving orders and having the last say but there is a lot more that goes into that and it comes with challenges. “Even when the team does not make it to the premier league. Since I was the conduct person, people so easily pointed fingers and questioned my leadership, but I did not have to take it personally but strive for better and work even harder. In my term, I managed to secure sponsorship which I believe is a big deal. There was also a confusion of the logo which I managed to set right and the process is still ongoing. Throughout my term I made sure that the team never missed out on any games they had to attend due to transport and other essentials. I step down happy and proud because I gave it my best and wish the new committee nothing but the best. I will still be here to assist wherever I can”, he said.