Mokhotho unveils sports academy  

 NTHAKO MAJORO

MASERU – Lesotho’s renowned boxer, Moroke Mokhotho, on Monday this week launched an academy, Rocket Sport Academy (RoSA), at a colourful event held in Maseru. Mokhotho, who is the academy’s chairman, also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of his organisation with the Principal of Lesia High School, Mathafeng Moteuli, at the same event.

Both RoSA and Lesia High School are based in Ha Thetsane, Maseru. RoSA also has a partnership with Lesotho Badminton Association. Mokhotho said he decided to establish the academy after he realised that there’s a lack of development of athletes in the country.

“I started my career in boxing in 2008 and have represented the country at an international level since 2011 until today. So throughout all those years there were ups and downs, especially when it came to international games and that’s when I realised that as a country we were not doing enough when it came to development,” said Mokhotho during the launch.

“So, basically, that’s the main reason why I decided to establish the academy as a way of contributing to the development of athletes in the different sporting codes we have in the country.” Lesotho Badminton Association Secretary General, Mohlala Mopeli, said his organisation was grateful to have been given such an opportunity to partner with a sport academy like RoSA.

“Lesotho Badminton Association is a small and new organisation, and if sport academies saw the importance of partnering with us so that we could also be able to contribute in the development of athletes, we are therefore grateful for such an opportunity,” said Mopeli.

The Badminton Secretary General further thanked Mokhotho for establishing the academy. “We thank you very much for making a very good example.” The Principal of Lesia High School, Moteuli, said they were very happy with their partnership with RoSA. “We are very happy, so much that we don’t know what to say anymore,” said Moteuli.

The Lesia High School head further revealed that his school also had a formal partnership with the Federation of Lesotho Rugby (FLR). “Lesia High School (now) have MoUs with two local academies. The first one is the Lesotho Rugby Academy since it was established in 2014 and, as we speak, we are still in oneness.”

Moteuli also said they had an agreement with the Lesotho Badminton Association after it was established two years ago, but said Covid-19 pandemic then made things impossible. Nevertheless, he said Lesia High School became the first school to practice badminton in the country. “Now RoSA is being launched and we are the first ones to have the MoU with them.”

Moteuli said Lesia High School had produced good athletes over the years, citing the current captain of Kick4Life FC, Teboho ‘Scopy’ Lekhooa, as one example. “You go to taekwondo, the athletes who recently represented Lesotho regionally and internationally are the products of Lesia. The list goes on and on.

“In netball, we have been to countries like Zambia, Namibia and Botswana, and the athletes who played there are those from Lesia plus others from Leqele High School and a few from Paray High School.”    Moteuli said Lesia High School is the winning brand and that’s why RoSA and others entered into partnership with his school.

“There is not a single soul in this room who doesn’t want to be associated with the winning brand, unless you can tell me otherwise. That’s the reason why Lesia features because it is the winning brand.” The MoU between Lesia High School and RoSA would see the school providing the academy with space for training, amongst other things.

RoSA chairman, Mokhotho, had introduced one of the Lesotho Sport and Recreation Commission (LSRC)’s officers, ’Malitsietsi Zwakala as the current Secretary General of the academy, amongst others during the launch on Monday. RoSA currently has 32 athletes; 25 boxers and seven badminton athletes. All the seven badminton athletes are female.