Lesotho's senior women's national side, Mehalalitoe, spirit is reported to be high among the players ahead of the Regional Council of Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA) Women's championship.
sports
Aug. 26, 2022
LENA
2 min read
‘Spirit high among Mehalalitoe players’ – Coach
- Boitumelo Rabale, Mehalaitoe’s star player, was yet to report to the camp.
Story highlights
Mehalalitoe have been paired against Zambia, Namibia and Eswatini in group B
COSAFA Women's Championships is set to take place from August 31 to September 11
The COSAFA Women's Championships is set to take place from August 31 to September 11 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha, South Africa.
This was revealed by the Mehalalitoe's head coach Mr. Pule Khojane at the media briefing held at Bambatha Tsita Sports Arena on Friday.
Mehalalitoe coach said a total of 23 players including five foreign based players were raring to go even though team's skipper Boitumelo Rabale was yet to report to camp.
He said Mehalalitoe would open the tournament against Eswatini on September 1 hence the team would leave for Gqeberha on Monday so that they would have a few days preparations.
Speaking about the group in which Mehalalitoe have been drawn, Mr. Khojane said all the teams were tough as there were no more easy teams but promised Mehalalitoe would give their best performance.
''We are rebuilding a new team that comprises of eight new debutants plus five foreign based players whose international exposure is expected to bring much needed results,'' he highlighted.
However, he confessed not to have been able to monitor the foreign based players to see if they were active in their respective clubs, besides those he saw on television or through communication with their clubs.
- The spirit was reported to be high among the players ahead of their COSAFA tournament (Picture: File)
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The coach said the fact that they were called for the early training camp that started in April this year was to see some of them in action.
On the other hand, Mehalalitoe captain Litséoane Maloro said she was impressed by the commitment of the players at training and believed that they would do well in the tournament.
''We are ready to compete and not just to add the numbers in the competition,'' she said.
However, Maloro, who is one of the five players plying their soccer trade in South Africa, said she had realised that the standard of football was totally different between these two neighbouring nations.
''We still have a long way to go in terms of development of women's soccer in the country as South Africa is way ahead of us,'' she highlighted.
Mehalalitoe have been paired against Zambia, Namibia and Eswatini in group B while Group A consists of the host nation South Africa, Angola, Mauritius and Mozambique. Group C is made up of Botswana, Malawi, Tanzania and Comoros.
The ladies from the mountain kingdom have only played international practice matches against South African clubs and not against any national teams.
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