Lesotho’s Matlama faced with coaching dilemma ahead of Champions League clash
Lesotho side Matlama are facing uncertainty over whether coach Molebatsi Mothobi will be allowed to sit on the bench against Cameroon’s Coton Sport on Sunday.
Matlama are set to take on Coton Sport in the second leg of the CAF Champions League preliminary first round after suffering a 3-0 defeat at home in the first leg.
And it appears that the Lesotho side will be without their coach Mothobi, who does not have the requisite qualifications to be a head coach in CAF competitions.
As such, Matlama registered the former national team coach Moses Maliehe, and Mothobi was listed as an assistant coach.
However, Maliehe’s engagement was mind-boggling as he has been struggling health-wise and has not been coaching since 2019.
WHO WILL BE IN CHARGE OF MATLAMA IN CAMEROON?
His last official game in charge was against Cape Verde in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
As the team was preparing to host the Cameroonian side, he had not even presided over a training session. Mothobi had been preparing the team all along.
When it became clear that Maliehe would not be available to carry out the assignment, the club was under-pressure and roped in Seepeheephe Matete.
Yet another job for former Likuena head coach, but he too was not available to travel with the team to Bloemfontein last week. The explanation the club gave was that he was also not well.
The club pleaded their case with the match commissioner, and Mothobi was allowed to sit on the bench, but they face uncertainty in Cameroon.
It is this amateurish parade that annoyed Lesotho Football Association (LEFA), and the club’s management was hauled in front of the association’s executives to explain themselves.
MOTHOBI TO COACH FROM THE STANDS?
The club does not know if Mothobi will be allowed to sit on the bench but hopes the match commissioner will understand.
The club’s communication officer Themba Talane also denied that Matlama’s bloated technical team was divided into cliques and insisted they are still together.
“Ntate Matete was not on the bench in our previous game because of health issues,” he said.
“And we explained our situation with the match commissioner; they understood and allowed Ntate Mothobi to sit on the bench.
“We don’t even know he will be allowed again in Cameroon because Ntate Matete did not travel with the team.
“They may sit on the stands; we are just hoping the officials will understand that we have a coach, but this is the situation,” added Talane.
Mothobi holds CAF B Licence, which qualifies him to be an assistant. He is among the coaches set to take the CAF A Licence course with LEFA in the near future; the day has not been announced yet.
By Tlalane Phahla.