By: Sekonyela Qaitsane
Maseru – Former Likuena goalkeeper Kananelo Makhooane calls on the local football community to go easy on out-of-form Lesotho international striker Motebang Sera, who has received massive criticism for his poor showing in national team colors in recent times.
Makhooane, who played for Lioli and Matlama during his playing days, admits that Sera is out of form, and Basotho have the right to express their dissatisfaction with the player. He, however, reiterated that Sera has done a lot for the country and deserves his people’s support in these hard times to restore his confidence.
He says lack of game time in his club, Royal AM, is perhaps one of the factors that have put the player under immense pressure.
“When a player is not playing at club level, it always runs through their mind whether they will be able to secure their contract at the place where they are employed. Such could be the case with Sera, and we should not be hard on him but show support.
The national team is the only place where he can prove to his club that he still has what it takes to be a striker. Because of that, he might be trying too hard and putting himself under unnecessary pressure at times, hence the prolonged struggles,” he says.
The former shot-stopper went on to state that he still believes Sera is a quality striker and will regain his goal-scoring form, just like other great players who have lost form and regained confidence later, with support.
He, however, admitted that there are still proven goal scorers like Limkokwing’s Lemohang Lints’a who deserve a chance to prove themselves and secure ground-breaking career opportunities, just like Sera himself.
Sera is the only Lesotho natural number 9 playing his trade in South Africa’s top-flight league in the current squad. Perhaps Coach Leslie Nots’i’s decision to stick with him despite the former Matlama FC players’ poor form.
He’s the country’s top goalscorer at the regional tournament, COSAFA, with six goals to his name. That is not all. During his time on the local football scene, he proved himself to be a natural goal-poacher.
He has two Premiership golden boots and one more for the Independence Cup to show for his goal-scoring prowess. He scored a hefty amount of 48 league goals between 2016 and 2019, when he was then snatched by Bloemfontein Celtic.
However, the Maseru-born player nicknamed “Nyepetsi” has struggled to regain his goal-scoring form for both club and country in recent times. He has also seen limited game time at club level, starting from the bench in most games he featured in, hence the criticism for his continued inclusion in the Likuena squad.
He also starts most of the national team games—important ones, to be specific.
The argument for those against Sera’s inclusion in the squad is that there is also the reigning Vodacom Premier League top goalscorer, Lemohang Lints’a, at Coach Nots’i’s disposal, and he should be given a chance to prove himself.
However, the coach has proven to have other plans, as Lints’a played no part in the past two games of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against the Warriors of Zimbabwe and Rwanda, while the player in question started both.
Sera was, on two occasions, substituted by Sekhukhune United midfielder Teboho Letsema during the 2-0 win over Zimbabwe and the 1-0 loss to Rwanda. Letsema, on the other hand, hasn’t played a single official fixture for his new club since his move from Linare FC in January this year.