Lesotho Football Association

The Lesotho Football Association (LEFA) is the governing body of association football in Lesotho, a landlocked country in Southern Africa.[2] It was formed in 1932 and it is based in the city of Maseru.[3] The board helps run the Lesotho national football team as well as domestic competitions such as the Lesotho Premier League, the Lesotho Independence Cup and the Vodacom Soccer Spectacular.[2]

Lesotho Football Association
CAF
Founded1932
HeadquartersMaseru
FIFA affiliation1964
CAF affiliation1963[1]
COSAFA affiliation1997
PresidentSalemane Phafane
Websitehttp://lesothofootball.com/

History

Despite been formed in 1932, the Lesotho Football Association did not gain membership of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the world governing body for association football, until 1964.[3][2] In 1963, LEFA gained membership of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).[4] CAF is the controlling body for African association football and membership of it is required to compete in qualifying for Africa Cup of Nations or the event itself.[5] LEFA is also part of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) which acts as an association of football associations for Southern African countries.[6] Lesotho joined COSAFA in 1997 which is the year COSAFA was formed.[6] COSAFA organises the COSAFA Cup, a competition Lesotho has finished runner-up in once.[7]

LEFA runs the Lesotho national football team, whose first international match was a 2–1 win against Malawi in 1970.[8] The Lesotho national team has never qualified for an Africa Cup of Nations or a World Cup but they have competed in multiple COSAFA Cups with the first being the 1999 edition.[9] The national team reached the final of the 2000 COSAFA Cup but lost 6–0 on aggregate to Zimbabwe.[10] LEFA also helps in the running of the Lesotho women's national football team.[2] They played their first international match in 1998 and have since competed in the COSAFA Women's Championship on two occasions.[11][12] In Lesotho, the Lesotho Premier League is the top domestic football league.[2] The winner of the league qualifies for the CAF Champions League.[13] As of October 2016 the president of LEFA is Salemane Phafane.[2]

References
  1. Ethiopian Herald. 30 November 1963.
  2. "Lesotho Football Association". FIFA. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  3. "Asociaciones D – J (Djibouti – Lesotho)" (in Spanish). El-Area. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  4. Ethiopian Herald. 30 November 1963.
  5. "Confederation of African Football". Confederation of African Football]. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  6. Falola, Toyin; Jean-Jacques, Daniel (14 December 2015). Africa: An Encyclopedia of Culture and Society. ABC-CLIO. p. 657. ISBN 978-1598846669.
  7. COSAFA Cup. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  8. "Lesotho – Matches". FIFA. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  9. "COSAFA Cup 1999". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  10. "COSAFA Cup 2000". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  11. "Lesotho Women – Matches". FIFA. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  12. "COSAFA Women Tournaments". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  13. "CAF 5-Year Ranking". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
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