By: Sekonyela Qaitsane
Maseru – As a way to broaden the selection pool for women junior national teams’ coaches, the Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) continues to develop young girls through engaging school of excellence camps.
This year’s camp, which is also the second, is currently in motion and is scheduled to come to an end on the 4th of this month. The association is hosting 54 under-15 girls at the Bambambatha Sports Arena.
According to the Women Desk Officer at the association, Joalane Tongoane, the girls were scouted through collaborations with the Lesotho Primary Schools Sports Association (LEPSSA) as well as District Football Association (DIFA) coordinators and coaches through different competitions held across the ten districts.
The eldest in the camp, she said, is 14 years old. The girls arrived at LeFA Headquarters on Thursday and started their training sessions on Friday, where they trained twice a day.
Following the first camp last year, Tongoane says the association is already reaping the fruits of this investment, as four of these girls are already representing Lesotho at the under-17 level, and they are hoping to have many of them going forward.
The biggest challenge, she said, is the fact that the girls are still in school, so they can only get them for this program during school holidays. After this camp, she said they will only have them again during the Christmas holidays.
The current camp, she said, is overseen by a group of coaches who include Khutlang Ramokhele, whose Mphaki High School Ladies impressed in their first season playing in the Women Super League; well-known Kalaela Tseka, who runs a successful academy in the Kingdom; and one of the upcoming coaches in the country, Thakane Senatsi, who is the assistant coach at Kick4Life.
LeFA has also roped in medical professionals as well as safeguarding officers to oversee the camp, along with officials from LEPSSA.