Africa-Press – Lesotho. Rethabile Rasethuntša, Sekhoane Moerane, Jane Thabantšo and Tshwarelo Bereng will form a leadership group to lead the Lesotho national team. The new captains’ group has been chosen by interim Likuena coach Leslie Notši to lead the country after last week’s sudden retirement of Likuena’s long-time skipper, Basia Makepe, from international football.
Notši has moved quickly to fill any leadership void but a new permanent captain for Likuena is yet to be decided. The timing of Makepe’s retirement caught Lesotho off guard.
Later this month, the senior side begin their 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifying campaign and there were hopes Likuena could make a push for their first-ever appearance at a continental showpiece after they finished second at the COSAFA Cup in July.
That performance in Durban, South Africa raised hopes that Likuena have turned the corner after a gloomy two years under Veselin Jelusic which came to an end when the Serbian was sacked in June.
The first legs of the opening round of CHAN qualifying will be played on September 22 and 24 with the return matches on October 6 and 8. Notši said Rasethuntša, Moerane, Thabantšo and Bereng are senior players that were always engaged by the technical team in meetings, even when Makepe was in the fold.
Notši did not say when or if a new captain will be appointed to permanently replace Makepe who stepped away after inspring Lesotho to the COSAFA Cup final for the first time since 2000.
On Saturday, Likuena face Ivory Coast in a 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier which will be Lesotho’s first game without Makepe who was a rock in defence for over 10 years.
“For now, we are using a leadership (group) made up of senior players,” Notši said.
“Rasethuntša and Sekhoane have been around and have been consistent. They have qualities for leadership, they are people we are looking at.
If Jane (Thabantšo) was around, we were (going to be) considering him and Tshwarelo Bereng,” the Likuena mentor explained. “When we engaged senior players, we called all four of them, and Basia.
We talked about the vision for the camp and what is expected from them to help the young ones coming into the team. The four of them are the leadership group,” Notši explained.
Thabantšo will miss the Ivory Coast tie which is Likuena’s final game in the AFCON qualifiers but he is expected to be back for the CHAN qualifiers and the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers which begin in November.
Bereng, meanwhile, was not with Likuena yesterday when the team left the country. The experienced midfielder, who plays for ORBIT College FC in South Africa’s first division, will link up with his teammates in Johannesburg before Likuena fly to Ivory Coast.
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