JOALANE Tongoane (J.T) fell in love with football as a young girl growing up in the dirty streets of Ha ‘Makhoroana in the Berea district. But little did she know that her journey with the beautiful game would take her to the pinnacle of football administration in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. In this wide-ranging interview with the Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) Media Officer Mikia Kalati, Tongoane opens-up on her transition from being player to a top-notch football administrator.

LeFA: First things first, who is Joalane Tongoane?

J.T: Joalane Tongoana is a young lady from the rural village of Ha ’Makhoroana in Berea. I used to play soccer with boys in my village and that was from the age of seven going into my primary days. My love for football developed rapidly throughout my high school days at ’Malithuso High School as we participated in sports activities, mostly girls’ football. I believe I was going up by leaps and bounds as a player because soon, I was selected for the Vision 2020 team playing for the Maseru District in 2006 and 2007. In 2010, I joined Rovers Ladies team and was appointed captain of the club in 2012.  This was while I was studying at the National University of Lesotho (NUL).

LeFA:  How difficult was it to balance the two?

J.T: It wasn’t easy at all because I had a lot of schoolwork to do almost every day at varsity and having to make time for football made it even more difficult, but God gave me the strength and I managed to do both. I had people like the former women’s national team player ’Makopo Kepa (KB), who kept me motivated because she had been doing the same for years as a female soccer player and as a student at NUL. That made me realise that when time is managed well, there is a lot that can be achieved. I managed to live my passion, which was playing football and also graduated with a BA in Sociology and Development Studies.

LeFA: Take us through that transition from being a player to the management side of the game.

J.T:  In 2016, I got very ill - I was admitted in hospital and was diagnosed with meningitis. The doctors told me that I would no longer bear the pressure of high-intensity training and that’s when I decided to call it a day as a player. I then moved to administration and joined the management of Rovers Ladies, I had also been elected as the Vice-Secretary of the Women National Committee. The new role helped me to grow as an administrator and I met experienced football administrators like Mr Chris Bullock, who was the Secretary.

He took me under his wing as my mentor and saw the potential I had as a young administrator. We worked well together and I really enjoyed my time serving women football. The following year (2017), I was elected as a member of the Women’s Super League Committee, where I would once again team-up with Mr Bullock, who was the Chairperson of that committee.

I cannot forget Mr Tjamela Tjamela, from whom I took over as the Women Desk Officer at LeFA in 2019. He is another person who also motivated me in my early days as an inexperienced woman football administrator.

LeFA:  It’s surely a dream come true for you to work for the Lesotho Football Association, overseeing women football, right?

J.T: Of course. I was very happy after being given the opportunity to serve women football development, working for the football mother body. It has been a fulfilling experience though quite challenging. It was and it is not easy as a young lady, but the support that I get from my colleagues and principals, especially the head of the Department, Mr Leslie Notsi as the Technical Director keeps me going. I think we are making good progress towards improving the standards of women football in the country. I have also discovered that we have a lot of talented young girls throughout the country. However, the biggest challenge especially in the remote areas is that girls are still being restricted from playing football and displaying their God’s given talents. Due to our culture, a lot of girls are still being denied the opportunity to play football as it’s still being considered as a male sport.  That hampers their development because they do not get the same support as their male counterparts, especially those that play football when it comes to things like buying them soccer boots. I believe we also must do a lot of training for female coaches and those working in women football. There is a lot they need to learn about women football.

I believe there is a need for a country-wide awareness to change this culture that playing football is only for males. Parents should understand the need to support and encourage girls to also play football. Such campaigns have worked wonders for grassroots football and I’m confident that they can do the same for women football.