PRESIDENT of Lioli FC Lebohang Thotanyana is hopeful that the team’s late head coach Thomas Tshabalala had a proper sent off when he was laid to rest on February 2 at his Botshabelo residence in South Africa.

The team was unable to send representatives to the funeral due to strict travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tshabalala who had been with the Teyateyaneng-based giants since October 2020 died on January 24 at the Berea Hospital, after complaining about a severe flu.

A brief memorial service which was attended by among others the sports minister Likeleli Tampane was held in honour of the fallen mentor last week Monday before his remains were ferried to South Africa.

Thotanyana told Metro that due to COVID-19 safety regulations, only five people from Lesotho were allowed to accompany the late coach’s body to the Maseru Border Post before it crossed into SA.

“Only one member of the Tshabalala family came to Lesotho to collect the remains of the late coach,” Thotanyana said.

He added: “The funeral was held on Tuesday in Botshabelo, although we did not send any representatives to the funeral, but we are hopeful that everything went well. The family promised to provide us with a report of what transpired after the funeral.”

All funeral expenses were covered by Tse-Nala through the assistance of Alliance Insurance, along with Ms Tampane and a fund created by the club.

On another note, Thotanyana noted that Lioli players and the technical team are currently only getting their half salaries due to the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, which also led to the suspension of sports activities in the country.