Africa-Press – Lesotho. Lesotho’s national women’s team, Mehalalitoe, are set to resume their preparations for the 2023 Women’s COSAFA Championship in the coming days. The regional showpiece will be staged in Gauteng, South Africa, from October 4 to 15.
Mehalalitoe had already started training but had to stop their sessions due to Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) Ladies’ participation in the CAF Women’s Champions League COSAFA Qualifiers which ended this past weekend in Durban.
LDF are back in the country and Mehalalitoe’s technical team has given the players a week or so to rest before returning to training. Mehalalitoe head coach Pule Khojane said they hope to resume training as soon as possible.
The draw for the COSAFA Women’s Championship will be held today and Mehalalitoe will know their group opponents while the host city will also be confirmed.
Khojane said they have given the players returning from Durban time off to recover and to allow those carrying injuries to heal. However, he admitted that the players were not active when LDF were playing will be starting from scratch in terms of fitness and physical work.
Khojane said that even though the players were given a programme to follow, they were not monitored. “Physically we were okay, we were working in the LDF gym.
We were basically training twice a day, doing gymnasium work in the morning and sessions at Bambatha (Tšita Sports Arena),” Khojane said. “I think the ones that were in Durban will be better, the problem will be the ones that were left behind.
Of course, you give them a programme but you never know,” he said. Mehalalitoe will resume training without some of their players who are based in South Africa. One player who will likely only join Mehalalitoe when the tournament starts is Lesotho captain Boitumelo Rabale.
Given the busy schedule of her club Mamelodi Sundowns, Rabale will likely only link up with the team when the COSAFA Women’s Cup kicks off, as she did during last year’s tournament.
However, Khojane said he would prefer the likes of Litšeoane Maloro to join the team earlier. He said he hopes their clubs can release them early so they can start training with the team.
“We are happy that they are playing for their clubs, it is different from the past when they weren’t playing. They are already senior players and that experience will be important for us,” Khojane said.
“It’s over a year since I got into women’s football and it is definitely my goal to have more players playing in South Africa regularly. That will be great for the national team. Every time we are playing I am just hoping that at least one (player) gets to move,” he said.
Khojane said they are always looking for new talent to bring into the team but said the current squad will likely be the final squad heading to the tournament.
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