Lesotho will host their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying home match against Rwanda in June at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa. The tie will be played on June 11 and will be the second match of a World Cup qualifying double header for Likuena next month.
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On June 9, Likuena will face Zimbabwe at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg and they will then fly to Durban to host Rwanda.
Like Lesotho, Zimbabwe are barred from hosting international matches at home and they will rent the Orlando Stadium to host Likuena.
Lesotho’s game against Rwanda a few days later will be the second time Likuena will use the Moses Mabhida Stadium in the qualifiers after welcoming Benin to the ground in November last year.
That match ended in a goalless draw and Likuena have two points after two games.
Likuena have used Dobsonville Stadium as their home ground in the past but the stadium is currently not available.
Orlando Stadium is another option but the Lesotho Football Association (LEFA) picked Moses Mabhida because it not only costs less to play in Durban, but it is convenient for Likuena as Durban is a host city for the COSAFA Cup which is scheduled to start right after the qualifiers.
Speaking to thepost on Tuesday, LEFA Secretary General Mokhosi Mohapi said Likuena will fly to Durban after playing Zimbabwe.
“(The cost of using the) Moses Mabhida stadium including security, medical services, and hospitality is M300 000. Dobsonville is out, but there is Orlando stadium and I spoke with Zimbabwe. They are paying M690 000 and it doesn’t include accommodation,” he said.
There are other costs to be factored besides the M300 000 figure, things like car hire, training ground and others.
Likuena will continue to play their home games in South Africa as long as Setsoto Stadium remains unavailable. It is the third year now that the national team has to play their home games on foreign soil.
Mohapi admitted that the money that has been spent on hiring stadiums could have been redirected elsewhere if they were playing in Lesotho.
“It could be a lot because when we did our budget we had to look at a different angle from previous years with that money obviously, we could have been spending far less, we could then spend that money on other areas where our mandate directs,” he said.
“However, we are spending way too much on accommodation across the boarder,” Mohapi added.
Mohapi also said the association has a formal engagement with interim Likuena coach Leslie Notši and his technical team for the qualifiers. Mohapi said LEFA do things “project by project” and “there could be other decisions” after the World Cup qualifiers conclude next year in September.
Notši stepped in last year after the association fired Veselin Jelusic and under his guidance, Likuena reached the final of the COSAFA Cup for the first time in 20 years but lost to Zambia. They are looking to build on that performance this year and possibly win the competition after coming so close last year.
“We are right in the middle of the World Cup qualifiers, it’s COSAFA after, we have a formal engagement, and they (Notši and assistant coach Bob Mafoso) are there for the qualifiers which end next year in September,” Mohapi said.
“We have a coach, beyond the qualifiers there could be other decisions. We do project by project.”
Tlalane Phahla
