Africa-Press – Lesotho. LIKUENA’S uncomfortable hosting of their international matches in South Africa will not come to an end any time soon. This is because Lesotho’s only national stadium, which was the only CAF-approved facility about three years ago, remains unapproved after CAF found it seriously wanting.
CAF made recommendations on what needs to be fixed then, and the government has been making promises but little has come out of them. Two weeks ago the government, through the Lesotho Sport and Recreation Commission (LSRC), wrote to Lesotho Football Association (LEFA) telling them that the state of the national stadium has not changed.
The letter was a response after the association’s enquiry for an update on the status of the ground. The association had been told that there was no money for the renovations.
“The status of Setsoto Stadium has not changed. That is all the concerns raised by CAF have not yet been attended to,” the LSRC told LEFA. The developments required by CAF include massive renovation, re-grassing, installing modern floodlights and a standby generator.
This update from the government is also bad news to the Premier League teams as the winner of the league will not be enrolled in the CAF Champions League unless the stadium is put back to required standards.
Last year in November, LEFA announced that quit CAF’s continental club competitions until further notice. Bantu are currently leading the table with three points ahead of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF).
Should any of them win they would not enjoy the benefits of competing internationally. When suspending Lesotho’s participation in continental club competitions, LEFA cited high costs of hosting games in South Africa because of the Setsoto’s unavailability. Likuena will host Zambia in Dobsonville Stadium in March in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
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