Africa-Press – Lesotho. It is lunch time and I don’t seem to have an appetite. My penchant for the biblical golden fluids is gone too. I feel like having constructive discussions with people who mean well and are devoid of a negative spirit.
Trust me there are a lot that see nothing constructive about discussions even when not invited, they will gatecrash just to spread negativity. It is in their line of work, their lives depend and revolve around negativity.
But then I feel obliged to create conversations to their dislike and I have a right to converse with whoever I so wish. Let’s talk about the calibre and competences of our local club bosses.
I know everyone who will take part in this conversation follows one of the over 900 football clubs in the Kingdom of Lesotho. Let’s just scale them down to the top 36 for conversation sake.
Looking at the local club bosses, and taking into account the economic environment they operate within, can you really say they have the requisite acumen expected of them to contribute to a planned football renaissance? Do they have enough experience and have they shown initiative in pursuit of achieving a collective growth of football at both the club scenario which should be progressing towards professional and the national team which should be a mirror of what is being achieved at club level?
I ask this because just last October, the Lesotho Football Association in collaboration with UEFA hosted a four-day high level course for the 16 Club Presidents and their Deputies.
The course covered areas such as Football Governance, Marketing, Communications and Finances, Development among others. Without blaming anyone, have you, as the consumers of league football, seen growth in the product? Change can start with small things.
I ask this because sometimes when things aren’t yielding the expected outcomes, we need to look at the industry as a whole rather than focus on a single pedestal.
I at one stage asked if your team in the past season ran a development team and woman team. Have you watched them play? I was fortunate to watch the Manonyane FC development team aptly named Matlaka FC and Manonyane Ladies in action.
The Manonyane FC Ladies team plays in the DiFA Maseru league and is well taken care of amidst the economic challenges that the organisation is faced with. Matlaka will compete in the B-Division next season.
The problems that are external to the teams will be discussed in another conversation some other day, but let us look inwards as a fraternity and look at the club football environment. Enough has been said about the mother body, LEFA, already.
Do the club bosses even abide by the regulations that govern football? Are they even aware that at the start of the season, which has started already, Club Licensing will be done online and in two stages: the first stage being the local one by LEFA which will for those clubs that pass the first stage then be conveyed to CAF?
How many are going to run to the media platforms and moan not knowing or not having been informed about this? Let me tell you that they were told three years ago about the changes that are being effected but because they know that people out there don’t know, they feel it is in the best interests of everyone to misinform whenever they transgress.
How many club bosses know that they will have to provide proof as they enroll that their clubs – youth and women did in fact exist as physical teams and played in LEFA competitions? Won’t they come back to say they didn’t know that they will need to have played as a prerequisite to enroll?
Are you sure that your club bosses are fully compliant and abide by the regulations? Are you sure? We know them remember. So if they don’t take football development dearly even when resourced to do so by the mother body, what do you say?
I am not attacking anyone here but inviting everyone with good intentions, those who can contribute and not only finger point and play the blame game to engage with the view of assisting our club bosses to better operate in this dog-eat-dog fraternity. Enjoy your lunch though.
https://www.thepost.co.ls/insight/change-starts-with-small-things/
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