MEHALALITOE are set to kick-start their campaign in the HollywoodBets regional Council of Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA) Women's Championship against their Eswatini counterparts at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium on September 1.

The Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) Media Officer, Mikia Kalati said the Pule Khojane-coached side has been paired in Group B against Eswatini, Zambia and Namibia.

Mehalalitoe face Zambia on September 4 before taking on Namibia two days later.

Group A consists of the host nation South Africa, along with Angola, Mauritius and Mozambique while Group C is made up of Botswana, Malawi, Tanzania and Comoros.
“Top teams in each group will advance to the semi-finals together with the best-placed runners up from the three groups,” Kalati also said.

The Zambian squad is fresh from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) women's qualifiers and could prove to be a hard nut to crack in the tournament.

Although Kalati described the draw as fair, he was however, apprehensive that the Zambians could be difficult to contain, adding that they needed to be approached with utmost caution.

Because Zambia, South Africa and Botswana participated in the just ended continental tournament, he said they were expected to be a cut above the rest in terms of readiness and sharpness in the upcoming competition.
“I however, believe that this on the other hand could work against these three countries as the other teams would be too keen to see their downfall in the tournament,” he said.

The competition, he said would also provide a good platform for local players to showcase their talent to scouts from competitive leagues like the neighbouring South Africa among others.

“All ambitious players would like to see themselves plying their trade abroad or in South Africa and this competition provides them with the opportunity to be seen.”