Africa-Press – Lesotho. Federation of Lesotho Rugby (FLR) celebrated its ups and downs since it was established in 2011 and this was done through a gala dinner and award giving ceremony held at Avani Lesotho on Saturday night.
The dinner was graced by the presence of His Majesty King Letsie III as the rugby patron in Lesotho. Speaking at the event, His Majesty described how he became the Lesotho rugby patron.
He disclosed that around 2011 he was approached by the then rugby federation rein holders who discussed with him their plan about introducing rugby as official sport in the country, and even asked him to be the sport patron.
“I was scared whether the initiative would work but as a rugby lover and former player during my school days, I had no choice but to take the responsibility,” said King Letsie III.
He added that the other threat was that Basotho were reluctant to accept a sporting discipline they believed was meant for a certain group or class of people.
“In the past, rugby in Africa was referred as a Boers’ sport. Therefore I was afraid that Basotho were not going show interest in this sport,” added His Majesty.
King Letsie III congratulated the federation for working hard and making sure that the sport is being played in most schools and that he was happy with the number of rugby clubs in the country that have been established within a short space of time.
It was early this year when FLR introduced National Women’s Rugby Championship Cup (NWRCC) and His Majesty hailed the country’s coaches for their effort to introduce women in this rough sport.
Lesotho is looking forward to host two international rugby tournaments in September and October this year, therefore His Majesty advised the teams to get prepared on time.
He also acknowledged all the sponsors who have been giving a helping hand to the federation over the years. He said their work is commendable as sport is one of the factors that unite the nation.
FLR president, Fetang Selialia revealed that since 2011 they managed to boost the sporting discipline’s competitiveness by encouraging security institutions to form clubs and join their league.
“In our league we have Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) club, Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) club and Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) club and that is one of the huge achievements for our federation,” said Selialia.
Minister of Gender, Youth, Sport and Recreation Hon Kabelo Mafura postulated that rugby is one of the sport codes rapidly growing in the country and called the nation to welcome all nations that will be visiting Lesotho to face national rugby team, Likatola.
The dinner also saw outstanding players, coaches, media houses/practitioners as well as sponsors being appreciated for their contribution to the growth of rugby in the Mountain Kingdom.
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