Governing body of association football in Lesotho
The Lesotho Football Association (LeFA ) is the governing body of association football in Lesotho , a landlocked country in Southern Africa .[ 3] It was formed in 1932 and it is based in the city of Maseru .[ 4] 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 .[ 3]
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.[ 4] [ 3] In 1963, LEFA gained membership of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).[ 5] 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.[ 6] 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.[ 7] Lesotho joined COSAFA in 1997 which is the year COSAFA was formed.[ 7] COSAFA organises the COSAFA Cup , a competition Lesotho has finished runners-up twice.
LEFA runs the Lesotho national football team , whose first international match was a 2–1 win against Malawi in 1970.[ 9] 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 .[ 10] [ 11] The national team reached the final of the 2000 COSAFA Cup but lost 6–0 on aggregate to Zimbabwe .[ 12] LEFA also helps in the running of the Lesotho women's national football team .[ 3] [ 13] They played their first international match in 1998 and have since competed in the COSAFA Women's Championship on two occasions.[ 14] [ 15] In Lesotho, the Lesotho Premier League is the top domestic football league.[ 3] The winner of the league qualifies for the CAF Champions League .[ 16] As of October 2016[update] the president of LEFA is Salemane Phafane.[ 3] In February 2022, Lesotho Football Association appointed former Angola and Botswana boss Veselin Jelusic as their new coach.[ 17]
References
Sports governing bodies in Lesotho (LES)
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