Lesotho embraces UEFA contribution

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As four-day UEFA workshop for football administrators in Maseru

‘MAKERESEMESE LETUKA

MASERU – Lesotho has joined other African countries reaping benefits from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Assist. Assist is a football development programme which was launched by UEFA in 2017, with the main focus being capacity building, developing youth football, strengthening infrastructure and supporting football associations to create their own solidarity programmes. Lesotho is among 11 African countries which have so far embraced the UEFA Assist.

And local top-flight football administrators are presently attending a four-day Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) capacity building workshop held in Maseru. Dubbed the UEFA Assist League Development Programme Lesotho, the workshop started on Monday this week and ends today. The Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) secretary general, Mokhosi Mohapi, says the programme forms part of LeFA’s mandate to develop football in the country and part of the strategic plan to try and repackage the Lesotho premier league.

“This forms part of the Lesotho Football Association (LeFA)’s mandate to develop football in the Mountain Kingdom and part of the strategic plan to try and repackage the league,” said LeFA Secretary General, Mokhosi Mohapi during the opening of the UEFA Assist workshop in Maseru on Monday. “We are starting an era of renewal, hope and recovering from lost times over the decades, just like in the times of Covid-19 pandemic,” said Mohapi. “As we go through this course, I invite you to allow the head of UEFA Assist Programme to reignite us so that we can go back to our clubs more knowledgeable with ideas and try and spin what we have as football.”

Head of the UEFA Assist Programme, Eva Pasquier, said the main purpose of the workshop was to capacitate the top-flight clubs. Pasquier said it’s important that the clubs functioned properly and efficiently. “It is so important that the clubs function properly and efficiently, meaning development of the players and competitions of good quality and also in the administration, marketing and management,” said Pasquier. “We are all about building the capacity of clubs,” said Pasquier at the same UEFA Assist workshop on Monday.

“We know very well that there is no football without clubs and so it is important that clubs’ function properly and efficiently.” Pasquier, who is also the Head of International Relations at UEFA, said their workshops focused mainly on good governance, event management, technical development and finance management, amongst others. Premier League Management Committee (PLMC) Secretary General, Mokhethi Ramphuthing, said among other things they were looking to gain from the UEFA Assist workshop was how to market their clubs.

“One of things which we intend to gain knowledge on is how to market our clubs because that is one of the biggest challenge we have,” said Ramphuthing. “We also hope to gain knowledge on how to attract sponsorship and viewership.”The UEFA Assist has so far channelled support to more than 400 football development projects in close to 60 countries worldwide including 11 in Africa. Apart from the premier league clubs’ managers, the UEFA workshop is also attended by the Districts Football Associations (DiFAs) officials, amongst other local football stakeholders.

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