Football stadiums in Lesotho
The largest stadium by capacity in Lesotho is the 13,900-capacity Setsoto Stadium.
| Stadium | Capacity | City | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setsoto Stadium | 13,900 | Maseru |  |
| Football in Lesotho | |
|---|---|
| Country | Lesotho |
| Governing body | Lesotho Football Association |
| National team(s) | Men's national team |
| Clubs | Lesotho Premier League |
International competitions | |
Champions League CAF Confederation Cup Super Cup FIFA Club World Cup FIFA World Cup (National Team) African Cup of Nations (National Team) | |
The sport of football in the country of Lesotho is run by the Lesotho Football Association. [1] [2] The association administers the national football team, as well as the Premier League. [3] [4] Football is the most popular sport in the country.
The Lesotho Football Association was founded in 1932 and renamed, in 1992, as "Lesotho Football Association" (LEFA). In 1964, they joined FIFA and the CAF. The current president is the lawyer Salemane Phafane.
The Lesotho Premier League was founded in 1970 as the highest national league. At times it bore the names of sponsors. For example, during the 2013/14 season it was called the Vodacom Premier League. Most clubs come from the capital Maseru. Some clubs are associated with institutions such as the army, police and the judiciary. The annual highlight is the cup games for the independence celebrations on 4 October, in which four teams each participate. The 14 clubs of the Lesotho Premier League compete the trophy.
Record champions include Maseru's Matlama FC and Lesotho Defense Force and their predecessors from Maseru, each with ten titles (including a title from Matlama in 1969). Lesotho Prison's service / Lesotho Correctional Services has won six league titles, Lioli FC five titles and Arsenal FC, Linare FC and Maseru United / Maseru Brothers three titles each. Lioli FC are also the most successful club in the country not to come from Maseru.
The national team of Lesotho played their first international match in 1970, a 2–1 victory against Malawi. They have not qualified for a FIFA World Cup or Africa Cup of Nations yet.
Their highest position in the FIFA World Ranking was 105th in August 2014. They are currently ranked 147th (as of December 2022).
From 2004 to 2006, the German Antoine Hey coached the national side. The ambitious goal was the qualification for the 2010 World Cup in neighbouring South Africa. However, after one and a half years, Hey was dismissed for failing. The successor was the Serb Zavisa Milosavljevic, who was also dismissed in September 2009 and was replaced by Lesotho native Leslie Notši, who was previously the assistant coach of the national team. In 2014 Seephephe "Mochini" Matete trained the team, a former international. Moses Maliehe became the coach in 2016.
The biggest success of the national team was reaching the final in the regional competition of the COSAFA Cup 2000. In 2004 they could have, for the first time, qualified for a team for an under 20 national continental championship.
The nickname of the national team is Likuena (Sesotho for "the crocodiles").
The women's national team is ranked 169 (its lowest ranking to date) in the Women's FIFA rankings (as of December 2022). The top national division is the Lesotho Women's Super League.
In the 1980s, the "National Stadium" (Setsoto Stadium) was built in the capital Maseru. The project was originally directed and funded by North Korea. Under pressure from the South African government, the North Koreans had to leave the country. The stadium was finished under a different direction. In 2002, the new Setsoto Stadium was inaugurated by then FIFA President Sepp Blatter. Setsoto is the Sesotho word for "The Wonderful" or "The Amazement". The stadium holds, after a conversion, 20,000 spectators. At the same time, Maseru's "technical centre" was the Bambatha Tsita Sports Arena, which has a football school, a fitness center and two saunas. The cost of the Sports Arena was about $800,000, of which FIFA took over as paid $400,000 as part of the Goal project. [5]
Other football fields in Lesotho are often very simple, so there are no spectator stands there.
The largest stadium by capacity in Lesotho is the 13,900-capacity Setsoto Stadium.
| Stadium | Capacity | City | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setsoto Stadium | 13,900 | Maseru | |
Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border. Maseru had a population of 330,760 in the 2016 census. The city was established as a police camp and assigned as the capital after the country became a British protectorate in 1869. When the country achieved independence in 1966, Maseru retained its status as capital. The name of the city is a Sesotho word meaning "red sandstones".
Teyateyaneng is a town located in the district of Berea in Lesotho. Usually abbreviated to T.Y., Teyateyaneng takes its name from the two twin rivers which run on the north and the South. Both rivers lead to the Mohokare, or the Caledon River which forms the western boundary with South Africa. They are both named for their vast quantities of sand which means rapid dipping of feet as one crosses them, leading to both names which may well suggest that this is a 'place of quick sands'. Teyateyaneng's name therefore comes from the southern Teja-tejana River, but the name later changed to Teyateyaneng, perhaps due to British influences as the country became a Protectorate in the late 1800s.
Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premier Soccer League, the first tier of South African football league system. Founded in the 1970s, the team plays its home games in the Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
The Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) is the governing body of association football in Lesotho, a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It was formed in 1932 and it is based in the city of Maseru. The board helps run the Lesotho national football team as well as domestic competitions such as the Lesotho Premier League, the Lesotho Independence Cup and the Vodacom Soccer Spectacular.
The 2000 COSAFA Cup is the 4th edition of the football tournament that involves teams from COSAFA. Zimbabwe beat Lesotho 3–0 in the final for their first COSAFA Cup title.
The Lesotho Premier League, also known as Econet Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is the top football division in Lesotho and was created in 1970. Econet Telecom Lesotho are the current league sponsor, since 2017/2018 season. Vodacom Lesotho were the previous league sponsor and were also the sponsor of the now cancelled Vodacom Soccer Spectacular knockout competition, which was the Lesotho's annual national cup tournament.
The Lesotho Independence Cup is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic football in Lesotho.
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Vodacom Soccer Spectacular is a soccer tournament that was launched by Vodacom Lesotho in 2008 and took place in 2011.
Matlama Football Club is the champion of Lesotho and the most successful club in the country. It is based in the city of Maseru, capital of the Lesotho. Matlama Football Club formed in 1932, is the most decorated team in Lesotho, having won the record 11 league championships. It is based in the capital city Maseru, its colors are Royal Blue and Manchester white .The home ground of MATLAMA FC is Pitso ground, the venue where Lesotho gained its independence. The club is renowned for its entertaining style of play which is developed from its junior ranks from under12 to the senior team, the team boasts one of the oldest and most successful youth structure in the country so much that almost all the teams in the Premier league have the products of such an academy affectionally known as Bafana.
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The 2013 COSAFA U-20 Cup was the 22nd edition of the COSAFA U-20 Challenge Cup, an international youth competition open to national associations of the COSAFA region. It was the first time since 2011 that the competition took place, as the 2012 event was cancelled while COSAFA concentrated their effort into organising a football competition as part of the Zone Six Games.
Bantu Football Club is a Lesotho football club based in Mafeteng.
Leslie Notši is a Mosotho former footballer who played as a Goalkeeper for School Boys FC, Arsenal FC (Lesotho) and Matlama FC in Maseru. He is the head coach of the Lesotho national football team.
The 2016–17 Lesotho Premier League is the 49th season of top-tier football in Lesotho. The season began on 27 August 2016 and concluded on 6 May 2017. Bantu won their second league title and will represent the Lesotho Premier League in the 2018 CAF Champions League.
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