Africa-Press – Lesotho. Matlama’s much anticipated executive committee elections are set to be held this weekend at the Police Training College (PTC). Every position is being contested for except that of secretary general because it only has one candidate, Thabang Letsie.
Every other position will be a battle. Perhaps the most interesting contest will be the one between the current president, Paballo Makakole, and Moeketsi Khojane. Makakole is seeking re-election. He was first voted into power in 2018 but he is heading into the elections with little support from the fans.
Khojane appears to be the candidate a lot of supporters are backing, in fact, the elections were the only thing Matlama supporters who made the trip to Durban over the weekend to support Likuena at the COSAFA Cup could talk about.
It was clear they are crying for change because although the club has been successful on the field under Makakole, the fans have not been happy with the administration of the team when it comes to finances.
‘Tse Putsoa’ won the league in 2019 and 2022 during Makakole’s reign, but Matlama supporters feel there has been no transparency.
Last year in their Annual General Meeting (AGM) the supporters were not happy with the financial report they were presented with. They demanded an audited version of the report, but it never came.
It remains to be seen if the outgoing committee will honour their wishes and present the reports this time around. Besides the finances, the fans have not been happy with the amount of players the club has been losing, many of whom have left the club on free transfers.
If Khojane is successful in winning Matlama’s presidency, he will have to rebuild the relationship with the fans, gain their trust and he acknowledged this in his interview with thepost yesterday.
He said the first thing is to have a plan on how they are going to run the team and earn the supporters trust. “We have to build a relationship with the supporters, we have to trust them and they have to trust us so that we can work together.
This committee we are going to work with has to be people who respect themselves and are well behaved, that is what will make the supporters respect them,” Khojane said
“We want to have specialists handling our finances, and I encourage that we have regular discussions about that in order to have transparency,” he said.
Khojane also continued that they are not only looking at sponsors to make money but there must be other revenue streams in order to keep the club afloat.
Making the Matlama brand visible using social media platforms such as YouTube where people can go and watch content about the club is one of the avenues he discussed.
“We are planning to introduce three tiers of our membership cards – platinum, gold and silver. Obviously, platinum will be costly but it means if you have it, you will not pay at the gate for home games for the whole season.
“The gold standard will allow you to pay a reduced fee while the silver card holder will continue to pay the normal ticket price,” Khojane explained.
Khojane also mentioned that Matlama must have its own ground. This would mean that ‘Tse Putsoa’ will stop hiring other grounds to host their games. If Matlama has a ground, all the gate-takings would go directly into the club’s coffers and the money would be used for different things.
Khojane has been careful with making unrealistic promises and said this will be the first time he is leading a football club so it is important to only make promises that can come true.
When the players are happy and being paid well, success will come back as they will be motivated to play, he said. Matlama’s candidates: President Paballo Mlangeni Makakole
Moeketsi Khojane Vice President Hubbard Monaheng Mangangole Tsikinyane Secretary General Thabang Letsie Vice Secretary Thabo Makara Mosa Masilo Treasurer
Mokotjo Maseli Lerotholi Letsie Team Manager Limpho Tšephe Mokoena Mohale Communications and Marketing Manager Thato Sesoane Ramafahla Thamae Members Tumisani Ntšere Keketso Mahase Mokhole Lekhoesa Montoeli Moleli Sekokoane Letela ‘Malerato Khutlisi Thapelo Mosoeunyane Paseka Ramokoatsi
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