Moorosi Tsiane
THE footballing community on Monday woke up to the interesting news that Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) president Salemane Phafane has been recommended by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to serve in the FIFA disciplinary committee.
Phafane becomes the second Mosotho to be associated with his sport’s international body in a space of two weeks after national boxing coach Sibusiso Keketsi was also appointed to serve in the International Boxing Association (AIBA) coaches committee.
Keketsi was appointed to the committee by the AIBA board.
The duo joins a list of other sport administrators who have served in different international sports bodies.
For several years now, Lesotho has had representation in different international posts but the question is, how has local sport benefited?
Despite several glorious posts held by local administrators, our sports remain in the doldrums.
For instance, we have several administrators holding prestigious regional or international posts but we have never sent just 10 athletes for the Olympics.
In the last edition of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016, we had eight athletes. So far, only one athlete, Khoarahlane Seutloali, has qualified for the Tokyo games penned in for July and August this year.
While we are happy that Lesotho is being represented in prestigious posts, the development back home must be clear. They should help the grassroots with the necessary information for growth. There must be a clear benefit for local soccer, for instance, once Phafane takes a front row seat at FIFA.
Administrators must introspect. Talent we have, but it is poorly nurtured. True, funding remains a challenge but the exposure that our administrators are getting on the international scene must surely reflect back home. Playing in regional tournaments must no longer be for mere fulfilment of fixtures but to compete.
Those appointed to international posts must surely learn a thing or two from their dealings and networks with those from developed countries. We cannot continue being benchwarmers in different forums. We must surely wake up and smell the coffee for the betterment of local sports.
My plea to those who have been fortunate enough to get international appointments is that they must take the opportunity to make contacts that can benefit Lesotho. Only then can we start dreaming of success.
Our athletes may be talented but we must learn how others have handled development in their own countries. Let us ask how others did it and implement similar policies back home instead of then appearing to start developmental projects with matured athletes.
Sports development no longer requires to be a matter of reinventing the wheel. Others have done it already, let us learn from them, only then can we diagnose where we are getting it wrong and rectify the challenges.
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