Africa-Press – Lesotho. Former Lesotho international Teele Ntšonyana has accused the Lesotho Football Association (LEFA) of bullying and he claims the association is out to get him after another dramatic episode between the two sides on Monday.
The former Linare and Liphakoe coach says he was expelled from LEFA’s ongoing Coaches Instructors Course via word of mouth and he was given no reasons for his expulsion. He said he requested a written explanation from LEFA but to no avail.
Ntšonyana’s tense relationship with the association dates back to his playing days and he said his outspoken character is the reason for the apparent witch-hunt against him.
On Monday evening LEFA released a statement saying Ntšonyana was removed from the list of participants following a series of allegations received from LEFA’s affiliate District Football Associations (DIFAs).
LEFA said these allegations involve acts of misconduct which have to be investigated and which, if proven, would amount to bringing the association into disrepute.
LEFA’s statement does not explicitly detail what the ‘acts of misconduct’ are and it also does not reveal which DIFAs made allegations against Ntšonyana. However, it is now public knowledge that on March 28 DIFA Leribe wrote a letter to LEFA accusing Ntšonyana of meddling in their elections.
The letter was signed by every member of the DIFA Leribe executive committee including its president Khiba Mohoanyane, who is also a vice-president to LEFA’s president, Advocate Salemane Phafane.
The letter accuses Ntšonyana of pushing his own agenda which does not benefit DIFA Leribe. Although, the letter does not explain what he did, it is believed that, amongst other things, Ntšonyana campaigned against Mohoanyane’s re-election as DIFA Leribe’s president.
In a long telephonic interview on Monday, Ntšonyana told a different version to what he is being accused of and instead insisted he is the victim of refusing to back down from ensuring the laws of the game are properly followed.
He said he does not see anything wrong with campaigning against Mohoanyane and asked if there would been the same issues had he endorsed Mohoanyane. “If I supported someone else what would be so wrong about it? I truly want to understand, what if I supported Ntate Khiba? Would I still be meddling with the elections? I don’t think so,” Ntšonyana said.
He said he is not surprised with how things are panning out and insisted that this is how football in Lesotho is being run. He asked why people who were campaigning for Mohoanyane are not being accused of meddling with DIFA Leribe’s elections.
“I learnt that Thabaneng was in Leribe campaigning for ntate Khiba with a lot of women, why should it be me, why aren’t they saying something about him. I am not surprised,” he said. Ntšonyana said what is happening is bullying and goes against FIFA’s code of ethics.
He alleged that everything happening in Lesotho football is against FIFA’s ethics including what he calls match-fixing where there are teams that are not playing league games but are said to exist.
Ntšonyana said he does not feel he missed anything from this week’s training by LEFA except the FIFA certificate that he will not be getting. Ntšonyana is a prominent member of the Lesotho Football Coaches Association (LEFCA) and he said there are a lot things they do not agree on with the current LEFA administration.
He said the LEFCA see things from a developmental perspective while football administrators are political, for them it’s never about how football is run but how they are going to win seats, he said.
Ntšonyana admitted going around the districts but said that was a LEFCA assignment and part of its ambition to form bilateral relations with districts.
At the moment, the coaching association resembles a Maseru structure and even elections are attended by those who are in Maseru. Ntšonyana’s tour was an attempt to take the association to the districts, he said.
“We said in LEFCA’s congress there is never a time they talk about the developmental side of football and exactly where we are going.
We don’t have vision, no mission, no values there is nothing and we were asking the districts not to allow any regulations to be passed in elective conference,” he said.
“There is never a time we discussed Likuena’s performances because it’s not important to me. As LEFCA we have values, mission and vision” he said. For their part, LEFA released a statement condemning Ntšonyana on Monday.
“In these circumstances, LEFA has come to a considered opinion that it would not be in the best interest of football and good administration to allow Mr Ntšonyana to continue being trained by LEFA at its cost until such time that his name shall have been cleared.
He will be served with relevant letters inviting him to make representations in the coming few days,” the statement read. Letters of complaints against Ntšonyana have also been sent to the president of the coaches’ association for appropriate investigation and action, according to the statement.
Ntšonyana said he plans to sit down with his advisers to see what he will do, but said he will be writing to FIFA. From his playing days, which included stints at South African clubs Swallows and Bidvest Wits, Ntšonyana has never had a smooth relationship with LEFA.
He has been suspended before by the association and he said if he gets suspended again based on unfounded allegations so be it, but it will not stop him from speaking out against injustices in football.
“I will never sit back and tolerate injustices in football, tolerate ill-governance, lack of integrity; I will not do this because I will be going against FIFA and I am not about to do that,” Ntšonyana insisted.
“I had a personal (talk) with LEFA’s secretary general (Mokhosi Mohapi) and he asked me if I love football more than the people I played with and I told him that I care,” he continued.
“I will not sit back and do nothing, (because) I care enough. I told him to do whatever they can but I am not going to pull back.
Whether they beat me with elections (or) money but I will always raise my voice, and that could be the reason (for a witch-hunt against me),” Ntšonyana said.
“He told me when I speak on the radio he wants to switch it off, because what I say is true. I am a coach, a development person and what I want to see is Lesotho football going somewhere.”
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