Lesotho names provisional squad for Netball World Cup qualifiers

Lesotho will attempt to qualify for the 2019 Netball World Cup in August...

Lesotho has named a provisional squad of 17 players for the 2019 Netball World Cup Regional Qualifier tournament for Africa in August.

The qualifying championship will be held in Lusaka, Zambia from August 13 to 19 and will decide the two African teams that will join next year’s field at the Netball World Cup.

The 17-strong preliminary squad will start training this week and will be trimmed to a final list of 12 players a month before the tournament in Lusaka starts.

Lesotho’s national netball team is coached by Matobako Molai with Thabo Mokobocho as his assistant coach.

“It will not be an easy challenge,” Molai said. “Therefore, we have to work hard in order to prepare a competitive and competent team for the tournament.”

Molai said Lesotho will look to secure friendly matches against neighbouring countries, such as South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland, to prepare.

Molai continued: “Based on the recent performances and standards in the (Lesotho Netball Association) domestic league I believe the national team players have what it takes to stand the pressure in the competition. The (Africa Qualifier) will help to boost our new players get international exposure.”

The 2019 Netball World Cup will be the fifteenth staging of netball’s premier competition which is contested every four years. The tournament will be held from July 12 to 21 in 2019 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, United Kingdom.

16 nations will contest the 2019 tournament. Lesotho is looking to qualify for the first time.

Five teams – Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, South Africa and Malawi – were automatically qualified into the tournament in January by virtue of their high positions in the INF World Rankings while England also qualified as hosts.

The remaining ten teams were to due qualify via regional qualification tournaments with two teams selected from each of the five international netball regions – Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

In January, Northern Ireland and Scotland qualified from the Regional Europe Qualifier and then, in April, Samoa and Fiji qualified from the Regional Oceania Qualifier.

Netball World Cup Qualified teams
Host	England
	Australia (#1 ranking as of January 2018) New Zealand (#2 ranking) Jamaica (#4 ranking) South Africa (#5 ranking) Malawi (#6 ranking)
Europe	Northern Ireland Scotland
Oceania	Fiji Samoa

Apart from the Africa tournament in Zambia, the Americas will decide their qualifiers in August and September in Barbados while Asia’s decider is scheduled for September in Singapore.

Provisional Lesotho Netball Squad:

‘Marethabile Sepiriti, Khahliso Matsinyane, ‘Malesenyeho Matsepe, Neo Mothobi, ‘Maboiketlo Khethollo, ‘Mamotšabi Lekhabunyane, Lisebo Tlali, Lerato Moeti, Tseleng Molefi, Rethabile Ntobo, ‘Mapaseka Mokilane, Thato Lekhooa, ‘Maneo Mosito, ‘Malintša Khanyetsi, Paballo Rannetla, Pulane Leuta, ‘Mamahali Khohleli

LNA holds coaching course to prepare for new league season

The netball league season is set to begin on Saturday...

The Lesotho Netball Association (LNA) says it is ready for the new netball league season, which is set to finally begin on Saturday, after it held a preparation training course earlier this month.

The seminar was held at Lerotholi Polytechnic and was attended by 12 coaches and 20 umpires.

LNA public relations officer ‘Matšepo Mohau applauded the attendance of the course and explained the reason for holding the training was to tackle a shortage of coaches and umpires which has hindered local netball in recent times.

The LNA currently only has one internationally certified umpire in Chakatsa Lephole.

Mohau said the association needed to train more umpires to ensure the smooth running of tournaments and eliminate the need to use unqualified referees to oversee games.

“I would like encourage school coaches to attend their courses due to the fact schools are the main source of players, therefore, in order for schools to improve their standard, they need to have well-trained development coaches,” Mohau also added.

According to Mohau having a well-organised database of umpires and coaches will also help the LNA have a wider pool to pick from for international assignments.

“This will pay off in the end because it will increase the umpires’ confidence and give them exposure as well as international experience,” Mohau said.

“Sending umpires for international matches will benefit us because it will allow us to be updated on new rules and regulations as well as other changes that happen in our sport,” she said.

The umpiring segment of the course was overseen by Lephole.

“At this basic level what we were doing was equipping the attendees with good umpiring communication skills,” he said. “We were also updating them on new rules and regulations in netball,” Lephole added.

The year’s netball season will see several new teams including SOU Maseru, Galaxy Mafeteng, Qacha’s Nek, Liphakoe, Moorosi as well as Mopholosi High School.

Lesotho netball season to get underway on April 1

Lesotho netball league returns on April 1

The Lesotho national netball league will get underway on April 1, the Lesotho Netball Association (LNA) has confirmed.

The LNA said it did not hold a league season last year because of commitments with international tournaments such as the Netball Youth World Cup qualifiers in Botswana last July and African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Under-20 Games in Angola in December.

Registrations to enter the 2017 league campaign closed last Friday with the action scheduled to kick off on the weekend of April 1 and 2.

LNA public relations officer Matšepo Mohau said several new clubs have registered to compete in this year’s league which is encouraging.

Before the league starts the LNA will host workshops for new umpires and coaches starting next month.

Mohau said the workshops will cater to primary and high school teachers because they are hands-on on the ground with potential netball prospects.

“We planned the workshop before the league start so we can gear up our coaches and referees towards the league. We want to equip them with the new amendments that were recently introduced in our sports code,” Mohau said.

By better equipping coaches, the seminars will also benefit players, Mohau said.

“If our players have a different understanding of the game it becomes a problem for them to unite when we go for international competitions and that results in poor results. It is through our coaches that we can close the gap,” she said.

The LNA hopes the seminar and upcoming league season will help its efforts to build on the national youth set-up.  Lesotho struggled at the Under-21 World Cup qualifiers in Botswana last July losing all its games but the AUSC Under-20 team showed some promise in December.

“We are yet to decide the fate of the team that went to Angola but we would like to keep the core of the team as is and then just add where we might lack as we prepare for next year’s Region 5 Games in Botswana,” Mohau said.

Lesotho drawn against South Africa in COSAFA Under-20

Lesotho will face South Africa in December's Under-20 Championships

Lesotho has been drawn against hosts South Africa for the 2016 COSAFA Under-20 Championships in December. The draw for the tournament was held yesterday.

The 16-team championships will be staged in Moruleng in South Africa’s North West Province from December 7 to 16 and the Makoanyane XI have been pitted in Group A with South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland.

Only the top team from each of the four pools of four teams will advance to the semi-finals.

It means there will be an early exit for one of the region’s heavyweights as Group B contains Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, three teams that are perennial contenders at the tournament.

Group C, meanwhile, will see Angola, Namibia, Seychelles and Mauritius face off while Group D contains Mozambique, Comoros Islands and East African guest nation Rwanda.

The tournament fixtures will be played at two venues, the Mogwase Stadium and Moruleng Stadium, with the latter being used exclusively from the semi-finals onwards. The competition’s third-place play-off and final will both be played on December 16 which is a public holiday in South Africa.

COSAFA is staging the Under-20 showpiece for the first time since 2013 when it was held in Lesotho and won by South Africa. It makes a welcome return to the calendar and will provide an opportunity for Lesotho’s young stars to catch the eye of international scouts.

To netball and the Lesotho Netball Association has assembled a preliminary squad of 14 players for the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Games to be held in Angola in December.

Four of the squad were part of the Lesotho team that took part in the Under-21 Netball World Youth Cup Qualifiers that were held in Botswana in July.

The rest of the players have been scouted from Lesotho Institution of Secondary Schools games which took place in August and nationwide trials that were held by the LNA in September.

The group of 14 players will be cut down to a final squad of 12 over the coming month with the Region 5 Games, which are for Under-20 athletes, set to begin on December 4.

The team will use the Lehakoe Recreational Centre for their preparations.

Monese departs for debut Olympics

Phetetso Monese (left) ready to fly the flag

Lesotho’s number one cyclist Phetetso Monese leaves today for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Rio Games will be Monese’s debut at the global showpiece and he will compete in the mountain bike cross country discipline. His event is scheduled for August 21 meaning he will have two weeks to acclimatise and get ready for the race.

Monese arrived back in Lesotho last week from a month-long trip to Europe where he competed at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and the BIKE Transalp stage race.

The ACE-The Sufferfest Lesotho MTB Team rider will be looking to continue his good form in Rio. The 31 year-old received special dispensation from the International Cycling Union (UCI) to compete at the Olympics as a result of his strong performances over the past year and Lesotho’s solid ranking.

Monese finished third at the African Continental MTB Championships in April in Butha-Buthe while Lesotho is ranked 33rd in the world.

Monese is rated 111th in the world and a good Olympics showing could see him crack the top 100 for the first time.

The Rio Olympics are Monese’s second major sporting event. He competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. Monese has been sponsored with a new M100 000 bike by Giant Bicycles South Africa.

A learning experience in Botswana

To netball and Lesotho’s Under-21 netball team has missed out on the 2017 Netball World Youth Cup after going winless at last week’s qualification tournament in Gaborone, Botswana.

Lesotho finished last in the eight-nation competition won by South Africa. The top three nations – South Africa, Zimbabwe and Uganda – qualified for the Netball World Youth Cup next August.

Botswana, as the hosts of next year’s global finals, will also represent Africa at the championships. Lesotho will be looking to use the experience gained in Gaborone to build for the African Union Sports Council Region 5 games which will be held in Angola in December.

Final Standings

		Points
1	South Africa	14
2	Zimbabwe	12
3	Uganda	10
4	Zambia	8
5	Malawi	6
6	Botswana	4
7	Namibia	2
8	Lesotho	0

Koloti signs new Sundawana contract, Lesotho struggles in Botswana

Roboama Koloti has renewed his Sundawana contract

Sundawana striker Roboama Koloti has signed a new contract with the Butha-Buthe club. Koloti’s new deal is reported to be for a further three years and makes him the highest paid player at the club.

The highly-rated Lesotho Under-20 international had been strongly linked with a move away from Sundawana so his contract renewal comes as a surprise. Lioli have already made a formal approach for the striker. Bantu and LMPS were also said to have enquired about the striker.

Sundawana, however, had insisted that Koloti would not leave Butha-Buthe for anything less than M2 million.

Koloti struck 13 goals last season and finished as the second leading scorer in the Vodacom Premier League. His form helped the club claim an unexpected top four place. With Koloti signed to a new deal, Sundawana are said to be turning their attentions to defender Motlomelo Mkhwanazi.

The Lesotho international is also a wanted man after an impressive 2015/16 season and Matlama, Bantu and Lioli are rumoured to be interested in securing his services. Koloti’s contract renewal, however, has given Sundawana hope they can hold on to the core of their impressive squad for the new campaign.

Koloti was part of the Lesotho Under-20 side that saw their Africa 2017 Under-20 Cup of Nations hopes dashed on Saturday with a 3-0 loss to South Africa. Despite a determined effort in the second leg in Bloemfontein, the Makoanyane XI were eventually overrun to lose 5-0 on aggregate.

With the win, South Africa qualified for next February’s continental finals in Zambia.

2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations qualified teams are: Zambia (hosts) Cameroon Egypt Guinea Mali Senegal South Africa Sudan

Lesotho (in white) v Botswana at the Africa World Youth Cup
qualifiers in Gaborone  

To netball and things are not going well for Lesotho at the Africa World Youth Cup qualifiers in Botswana. Lesotho suffered a 89-5 loss to South Africa on Monday afternoon in its latest game. Lesotho lost 81-11 to Malawi and 66-9 to Botswana on the opening day on Sunday.

The tournament is being held to decide which African teams will play at next year’s Netball World Youth Cup in Botswana.

The top three teams from the qualifiers in Gaborone, apart from Botswana who have qualified as hosts, will advance to the world finals next August.

Lesotho has to win its remaining five games to stand any chance of qualifying. The tournament ends on Saturday.

#Gaborone2016AfricaQualifiers results:

Day 1 - Sunday

Lesotho 11-81 Malawi

South Africa 49-39 Zambia

Botswana 66-9 Lesotho

Malawi 48-30 Namibia

Lesotho’s remaining fixtures:

Tuesday - v Zimbabwe

Wednesday - v Zambia, v Uganda

Thursday - v Namibia

Saturday - v Swaziland

Koloti expected to be fit for Amajita showdown

Lesotho’s national Under-20 coaching staff says Roboama Koloti will be fit for Saturday’s decisive 2017 Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa.

Koloti did not feature in the Makoanyane XI’s 0-0 practice game draw with Sundawana yesterday.

Roboama Koloti (left) is expected to be for Lesotho's vital U-20
qualifier against South Africa on Saturday

Koloti, who plays for Sundawana, also missed the first leg of Lesotho’s tie against South Africa’s Amajita two Sundays ago. The striker’s absence that day was felt as the visitors grabbed a commanding 2-0 first leg advantage and his non-appearance in yesterday’s friendly raised eyebrows.

However, the Makoanyane XI staff says Koloti missing yesterday’s game was just a precaution.

The squad left for South Africa today and Koloti travelled with the team with the expectation he will play in Saturday’s second leg. The clash will take place at the Dr Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein and will kick off at 3pm. If the Makoanyane XI can overturn the two-goal deficit they will qualify for the continental finals set for Zambia next February and March.

To netball and the national Under-21 team leaves this evening for Botswana to take part in the Africa Youth World Cup qualifiers starting on Saturday. Lesotho begins its campaign on Sunday against one of the pre-tournament favourites, Malawi.

The team will then play seven matches until next week Saturday to see if they can book a place at next year’s Netball World Youth Cup.

Lesotho is one of eight countries hoping to join Botswana at next year’s global showdown. The others are Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe and only three will qualify.

Botswana has already qualified as hosts of the World Youth Cup in August 2017.

Lesotho squad convenes for Netball World Youth Cup Qualifiers

Lesotho preparing for Netball World Youth Cup Qualifiers

A preliminary 20 player squad has convened as Lesotho prepares for the Netball World Youth Cup Qualifiers which will be held in Botswana later this month.

The qualifying tournament, which is for Africa’s ladies teams, will take place from July 23 to July 30. It will be contested by Under-21 teams from nine countries.

They nations are Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and hosts Botswana. Botswana will not be qualifying because it will host the Netball World Youth Cup which will be held in August 2017.

The three best African teams will seal a place from the Botswana qualifiers.

In total, each of the five participating continents will have three contestants each at next year’s World Cup. Botswana will complete the 16-team field.

Lesotho’s squad reported for duty last Saturday and it will begin full training tomorrow. Lesotho will begin its World Youth Cup Qualifiers against Malawi on July 24 in Gaborone.

Moving to football and the national Under-20 side has been boosted by the return to fitness of star striker Roboama Koloti. The Sundawana forward missed the Makoanyane XI’s 2-0 loss to South Africa on Sunday in the first leg of the sides’ 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations qualifier.

Koloti has resumed training and he is expected to be fit for next weekend’s second leg in South Africa.

The winner will qualify for next year’s African U-20 finals which have been scheduled for February 26 to March 12 in Zambia.