Molefe dreams big

MASERU – DIFA Mokhotlong boss Sekonyela Molefe is dreaming big ahead of this weekend’s showdown in Mapholaneng between four B-Division teams — Tlokoeng Stars, Powerline, LFP and Ramdel.

The four sides will be competing for glory to win a regional competition that is being sponsored by Nthane Brothers and the champions will walk away with a whopping M25 000.

These teams will face each other in the semi-finals on Saturday with the final on Sunday.

The competition started with ten teams and the other six were knocked out last week and now the fight is on to see who will walk away with the grand prize.

Speaking to thepost on Tuesday, Molefe said everything has been going as planned and he has been overwhelmed by the support people of Mapholaneng have shown.

He said he expects even bigger attendance this weekend because the tournament is all people have been talking about.

“I have been impressed mostly by the discipline I have seen from people attending the games, there have been no riots.

“I think people are happy to be watching football, they love it,” he said.

“This Mapholaneng zone is where we are still trying to grow football but I was surprised by the talent I saw on the pitch and the level of football has really changed,” he said.

Mokhotlong only has one team in the A-Division, Mzamane Football Club.

If Mokhotlong is able to get a few more teams in the first division then the chances of having a team from Mokhotlong make it to the Vodacom Premier League will increase.

Molefe said having a Premier League team is a dream and it is one of his manifestos as it would put the district on the map and attract hundreds of visitors.

Mokhotlong alongside Mohale’s Hoek, Qacha’s Nek and Thaba-Tseka are the districts that do not have teams in the elite league.

Molefe said they made a proposal to Nthane Brothers a long time ago about sponsoring a tournament, but never got an answer. They eventually responded and put the money on the table.

He continued that they want more companies operating in Mokhotlong to also be involved in supporting football in the district.

He said with good competitions, it gives the national teams coaches a chance to scout talent, and that he dreams of having players in the national team.

“Teams differ, there are clubs that I saw really playing with young players and I was very happy about that, because of good competition then players can play and, who knows, they might find themselves in the national team,” he said.

“We thank the Nthane Brothers for coming on board and we want to have all the companies in Mokhotlong supporting football,” he said.

The winners of the tournament will get M25 000, a full kit, balls, a trophy as well as gold medals. The runners up will go home with M20 000, a full kit, balls and silver medals.

Third and fourth will get M15 000 and M10 000 respectively and a full kit, with the third-placed team also getting bronze medals and balls. The other six teams will each walk away with M5 000 and kit.

Tlalane Phahla