Rugby union in Lesotho | |
---|---|
Country | Lesotho |
Governing body | Federation of Lesotho Rugby |
National team(s) | Lesotho |
First played | 19th Century |
Rugby union in Lesotho, and its predecessor Basutoland is a minor but growing sport.
The governing body is the Federation of Lesotho Rugby.
Rugby in Lesotho began after the year 2000 given the influx of students studying in South African schools where rugby union is a major sport. It was further intensified by the expatriate population who worked with local people to develop rugby. In 2008, National University of Lesotho organized a team known as NUL Spears Rugby Club. The club only participated in Intervarsity held between universities of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.
Rugby is centred on the national capital, and only sizable city, Maseru. Lesotho's poverty and lack of infrastructure make it difficult to maintain a proper national league structure.
The country is surrounded on all sides by South Africa. Rugby union in South Africa is a major sport - the country has both hosted and won the Rugby World Cup - and Lesotho is saturated by South African media of various types. Lesotho can therefore be considered one of several countries within South African rugby's sphere of influence - including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and Botswana.
In late 2011 the Maseru Kings Rugby Club was established in the capital. The team joined and began competing in the Eastern Free State leagues in South Africa in May 2012. As the only team regularly playing in Lesotho the Maseru Kings have become the de facto national team.
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".
The National University of Lesotho, the main and oldest university in Lesotho, is located in Roma, 34 km (21 mi) southeast of Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. The Roma valley is broad and is surrounded by a barrier of rugged mountains which provides magnificent scenery. The university enjoys a temperate climate with four distinct seasons. The governing body of the university is the council and academic policy is in the hands of Senate, both Council and Senate being established by the Act.
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.
Haae Edward Phoofolo served as interim prime minister of Lesotho from 17 August 1994 to 14 September 1994. Son of an Anglican clergyman, Phoofolo was born in Ladybrand, South Africa. He received his secondary education in 1969 and a joint LLB degree from the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland and the University of Edinburgh in 1974. He later obtained a M.Sc. degree in banking and money management from Adelphi University, New York in 1977.
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.
Rugby union in Namibia is a popular team sport in Namibia and its predecessor province of South West Africa. Because Namibia was formerly ruled by South Africa, rugby in Namibia was frequently influenced by events in that country and its domestic competition.
The Botswana national rugby union team represents Botswana in the sport of rugby union. Botswana have thus far not played in a Rugby World Cup, but have participated in qualifying tournaments. They are currently ranked 74th in the world.
The Eswatini national rugby union team represent Eswatini in the sport of rugby union. They are ranked as a tier-three nation by the International Rugby Board (IRB). Eswatini have thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup, but have competed in qualifying tournaments.
The Mauritius national rugby union team represents Mauritius in international rugby union. Mauritius is a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB), but the national team is ranked as third tier, and Mauritius have yet to compete in either the Africa Cup or Rugby World Cup.
Rugby union in Botswana is a growing sport.
Rugby union in Malawi, and its predecessor state, Nyasaland, is a minor sport, albeit one with a long history.
Rugby union in Eswatini is a minor sport. As of January 2021, the World Rugby Ranking of their men's national team is 98th.
Lesotho–South Africa relations refers to the current and historical bilateral relations of South Africa and Lesotho. Lesotho, which is surrounded by South Africa, depends on South Africa for most of its economic affairs, and its foreign policy is often aligned with that of Pretoria. Both are member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Southern African Customs Union and the Southern African Development Community. Lesotho, along with Eswatini, have been described as satellite states of South Africa.
The sport of football in the country of Lesotho is run by the Lesotho Football Association. The association administers the national football team, as well as the Premier League. Football is the most popular sport in the country.
Netball is a popular women's sport in parts of Africa. Several African nations are ranked amongst the top thirty in the world. As of August 2016, South Africa was ranked number Five, Malawi was ranked number Six, Uganda was ranked Seven, Zambia was ranked Sixteenth, Botswana was ranked twentieth, Zimbabwe was ranked Twenty-first and Swaziland was ranked Thirtieth in the world.
The Lesotho women's national football team is the national team of Lesotho and is controlled by the Lesotho Football Association.
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.
Sports in Botswana is diverse and reasonably well-developed. Though football, netball and athletics remain the most popular sports, numerous other sporting codes, including cricket, rugby, judo, swimming and tennis are active in the national sporting landscape. The Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC), together with the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) and Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture (MYSC) are responsible for the overall management of sport in the country. In addition, there over 30 National Sport Federations (NSFs) and three school sport federations
The 2017 Rugby Africa season contains a series of rugby union tournaments scheduled for 2017 and organised by the governing body of rugby union in Africa, Rugby Africa. The top-tier event is the Rugby Africa Gold Cup – formerly simply known as the Africa Cup – a six-team competition which was played on a round-robin basis from June to August 2017.
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