Africa-Press – Lesotho. Lesotho Football Association (LEFA) president Advocate Salemane Phafane has labelled the Ministry of Sport the worst of all ministries.
Phafane was speaking at the 18th LEFA Congress held at the association’s headquarters at Bambatha on Saturday
In a long address, Phafane said Prime Minister Sam Matekane is a good man because he supported football before his election as prime minister last year.
Phafane said LEFA hopes that Matekane will do meaningful things for football because of his past support of the sport, provided he does not let public servants mislead and misguide him.
“If he allows those people (to mislead him), in particular the Ministry of Sport – it is the worst ministry of all ministries – they will play games with him. At the end of five years or two years, as we now know (prime ministers) last two years, you will be out of government and they will still be there in the ministry,” Phafane said.
Phafane also launched a scathing attack on the sports ministry for giving the association a measly M40 000 subvention three months ago and said it would have been better if they did not give LEFA anything.
He said the figure was an insult to the association.
Phafane spoke at length about the issue of the national stadium which remains banned from hosting international matches.
Three years ago, Setsoto was one of 23 stadiums across the continent that were banned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) “for not meeting the required standards to host CAF A Type competitions.”
Since then, the national team, Likuena, have been forced to play their matches in South Africa.
Lesotho’s last game, a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Benin two weeks ago, was played at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Last week finally saw some movement at Setsoto when the artificial turf was removed from the stadium signalling the beginning of the renovation work to be done.
Phafane said LEFA hopes the work is done quickly and properly so that the association may resume hosting games at Setsoto Stadium.
Phafane said LEFA saddened that the artificial turf at Setsoto was damaged maliciously despite the association’s plea to be allowed to remove it themselves at their own costs, in order to reuse it elsewhere.
The artificial turf was installed by the association in 2009.
Phafane said LEFA was not given a chance to remove the turf at Setsoto themselves and it is no longer usable.
“We requested in writing to the Ministry of Sport that when the time comes for the removal of the turf, let us know so that we may go and remove it ourselves and put it to use elsewhere because we can still use it,” Phafane said.
“We even offered to remove it at our own cost but because the government is a milk cow, someone must have said ‘how are our guys now going to make money’,” he said.
“All of a sudden we saw guys with shovels already removing and damaging that artificial turf, so it is now of no use, it has been damaged,” Phafane said.
“That was malicious, and it was done that way because someone had to be awarded a tender and that tender included the removal of the artificial turf so that they could make money,” Phafane said.
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