New premier league season threatened

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As PLMC sees exodus of football administrators

NTHAKO MAJORO

MASERU – Notable senior officials within the Premier League Management Committee (PLMC) have expressed repulsion at the committee’s administration of the elite league’s affairs – telling Public Eye they want nothing to do with the football administration structure. This revelation is immediately after the postponement of the PLMC elective conference that was initially penciled for today, deferred because there is no candidate contesting for the committee’s vice-secretary position. The meeting will now be held on Friday next week, to have in place a committee that will prepare club fixtures for the new football season. PLMC general manager, ’Mabonolo Senekale, confirmed the postponement to this paper.

“We had to postpone the elections to next Friday since there were no candidates contesting for the position of the league’s vice secretary,” said Senekale in an interview with Public Eye on Tuesday. “So we have extended the time for applications, and as we speak they are coming in,” Senekale said, adding that they could not proceed with the elective meeting when there is a position that remains uncontested in the committee’s structure. The postponement of the PLMC elective meeting has put on hold all plans of kicking-off a new football season.

“It is only after the election that we will know for sure to when a new season will kick-off. That decision will be made by a new committee,” said a source close to the PLMC speaking to Public Eye. The PLMC is made up of managers and bosses from the clubs campaigning in the country’s top-flight league. The vice secretary’s post has been vacant for several months now, since the resignation of Advocate Hopolang Nathane who was, in March, appointed and sworn-in as one of the country’s new judges.

Justice Nathane was at the time Lioli FC vice president. But despite the PLMC general manager’s optimism, outgoing vice chairman, Baba Malephane, reveals that the lack of interest by any football administrator to contest for the post is an indication that people have lost interest in serving in the PLMC. Malephane claimed most people have realised that there’s no progress to make in Lesotho’s football, as far as football administration in concerned. “People are tired of lack of progress in the administration of the country’s football,” said Malephane. He further said: “We are going nowhere, and so we are wasting our time by continuing to serve in structures such as the PLMC.”

 

The PLMC and other football committees in country operate under the auspices of the Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) as the local football mother-body; since the PLMC is yet to be made autonomous. Malephane said, as a result, football structures in Lesotho remain unclear. “Our structures are not clear. For example, you say you give people autonomy but you interfere when you have interests.”

Malephane is no longer eligible to contest for any position in the PLMC since his club, Kick4Life FC, will no longer campaign in the premier after the sale of their top-flight status to Mohale’s Hoek’s Majantja FC. But the football administrator, who is also the former LeFA executive committee member, said he was not going to contest even if he was still eligible to stand for the PLMC elections.

“I can’t waste my time any more serving football again. I have wasted my time before and I am now out for good.” One of the PLMC’s outgoing members, Tony Ntakha, also told this paper he is tired of the goings-on in the administration of the country’s football. Ntakha, as a result, said he’s one of those people who are convinced that it has become pointless to serve in the committee.

“I am tired that despite our contributions there is no progress to point to in the administration of Lesotho’s football,” said Ntakha. “I have already informed my colleagues in the administration of the Lesotho Defence Force FC that I am no longer interested in serving in the PLMC’s board.” Ntakha, who is the LDF FC’s Communications and Marketing Manager and a former LDF FC’s star, said there’s no point in him continuing to serve in the committee which is failing to improve football in the country.

He said his the PLMC has, in just the past season, failed to retain the Independence Top 4 Tournament, the Lesotho National Insurance Group (LNIG) Top 8 and the Matekane Group of Companies Competition. “We have failed to keep the Top 4, the Top 8 and the MGC tournament. So, what’s the point of continuing to serve in a committee which doesn’t improve football?” he asked.

Ntakha, who also served in the previous PLMC committee led by Ikhetheleng Sello, said the outgoing PLMC board has failed football big time. He said this past term has seen the most underperforming committee of all time – in comparison to previous top-flight league committees.   “This committee has done nothing for football. The previous committee was better,” said Ntakha. The outgoing PLMC committee is led by Mosa Seoli as the chairman.

These officials scathing comments follow a litany of complaints from stakeholders in the football fraternity that it did not make sense for the PLMC to lose the Top 8 and MGC sponsorships while its outgoing Communications and Marketing Manager, Qamako Mahao, is part of the LNIG management and Malephane a part of the MGC. “We lost Top 8 and MGC sponsorships despite having Mahao and Malephane as part of these companies, which is something that does not make sense,” said one source.

Both the MGC and LNIG did not renew their sponsorships with PLMC in the last season. The two companies cited a decline in business due to the Covid-19 pandemic as the main reason they will not continue to sponsor their respective competitions. Another source said on top of all failures the outgoing PLMC also failed renegotiate the Top 4 sponsor, Standard Lesotho Bank, to return to football after the Covid-19 lockdown.

“We did not even approach Standard Lesotho Bank to come back on board. The bank’s management waited for us to come with a proposal…but until today that has not been done.” This, the source said, was because the PLMC was led by people whose teams were fighting relegation and have interest in the fate of league. “People who are leading this committee were not interested in negotiating sponsorships for competitions in which their teams would not compete since they were fighting for the relegation,” the source said. The source further said: “That’s where the problem was, and we have to blame our clubs for electing people from teams who are always fighting for relegation.”

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