Sports

McPherson says she’s on the mend

Published

3 years ago

October 5, 2021

MASERU – Naleli McPherson, a two-time chess Olympian and one of the top women’s chess players in Lesotho, says she is healing positively after her career was rocked by a cheating scandal earlier this year.
McPherson opened up to thepost this week about what she called the “darkest period of her career”.

McPherson said being labelled a cheat was heart-breaking but the support she received from the local chess community and her family gave her strength to shrug off allegations “that did not make sense to begin with”.
In February, McPherson was accused of cheating during the African Online Individual Chess Championship. McPherson was in second place with three matches to go in the tournament when she was disqualified and the Chess Federation of Lesotho (CFL) felt she would have won if she had been allowed to continue.

The CFL fumed at the decision by the African Chess Confederation (ACC) to disqualify McPherson and labelled it a witch-hunt after she beat two players who are rated higher than her.
The organisers of the tournament could not back their claims except to say analysis from the tournament’s Tornelo host platform, which screened behavioural patterns for indicators of cheating, told the same story.
Her disqualification cost McPherson about M30 000 she could have pocketed if she had won the tournament, but all of that does not matter anymore to McPherson who has devoted her time to teaching kids to play chess while still playing herself and furthering her career.

“That was the most difficult phase I have ever had to go through and even now I am still working on healing from that because it has gone quiet but it left a name don’t really like because those people didn’t respond and it went quiet without any clarity of what is really going on but I learnt to move on from that,” McPherson said.
“I have kids that I coach who look up to me and, if I hold on to that, it is going to affect even the passion I have for the sport, so I chose to focus on the positive side and leave the negativity,” she added.
McPherson said she is relieved the episode did not tarnish her name as she thought it might.

“The people around me supported me and I told myself that I need to forget this and move on. But, honestly it hasn’t given me that reputation I thought it would because most people in chess understood the problem wasn’t me but the organisers of the tournament, they were disorganised,” she said.
The kids McPherson coaches are between the ages of 5 and 12 and she said it is important to teach them at a young age because they are in the early stages of brain development and they can become proficient at the sport from a young age.

McPherson started playing chess back in 2011 just to know the basics and started to take it seriously in 2014 when she was at St. Stephens High School. She admits that being one of the top women in chess in the country comes with pressure.
It is not just about being the best at what she does, but also knowing there are women who are watching her and perhaps want to get into the sport, and it is her responsibility to elevate the spotlight on chess.
However, as somebody who performed like a seasoned pro in her first international tournament, the 2014 World Youth Chess Championship in South Africa, pressure is something she embraces.

“Being a top women’s player comes with pressure because it’s part of my responsibility that we attract other players and to show them why they should play chess, and when you are on the international level you are in the spotlight,” McPherson said.
“We don’t have too many ladies in the game and it is pressure because I have to do something to be in the spotlight so that other players can see me,” she added.
Chess is a mind game, problems come with solutions and you have to find those solutions, she said.

Tlalane Phahla

Sports

Big dreams for the New Year

Published

7 days ago

January 6, 2025

The Post

MASERU

The sport fraternity has opened a new chapter with the dawn of the New Year, closing what was a difficult year for football.

Last year began in grief when, in February, the football fraternity mourned the death of former Likuena coach Moses Maliehe, who lost his life following a long illness.

It was his Likuena side that famously came close to qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019, but suffered a heartbreak on the final day of the qualifiers, playing to a draw with Cape Verde when they needed a victory to book a ticket to Egypt.

While the country was still mourning for Maliehe, the Lesotho Football Association (LEFA) announced the untimely passing of Mehalalitoe head coach Pule Khojane after a short illness.

Khojane was also the association’s Coach Educator, a role he also held with Africa’s football governing body, CAF.

However, it was not all doom and gloom in sport.

Other sporting codes achieved major highs in 2024, one of which was Lesotho being granted full membership by World Rugby after being associate members for only two years.

Lesotho was one of three countries – alongside Egypt and Guatemala – that were elevated to full World Rugby member
status after approval during the international federation’s council meeting on November 14.

Another highlight came last October when the Lesotho National Olympic Committee (LNOC) played host to International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, Dr Thomas Bach, who made a high profile visit to the country.

Bach was in Lesotho on a two-day visit as part of his tour across the African continent.

Bach’s trip aimed to emphasise the increasing significance of Africa in the Olympic Games as well as to acknowledge and encourage the development of sports in Lesotho.

Upon his arrival in the country, Bach met with the Minister of Sports, Motlatsi Maqelepo.

Bach also paid a courtesy call on the acting Prime Minister, Selibe Mochoboroane, followed by a tour of Lehakoe Sports Arena.

Meanwhile, a difficult year for football ended on a positive note with LEFA announcing the return of league champions to the CAF Champions League next year.

The sports fraternity will be hoping the new year brings even more positives for the country.

Tlalane Phahla

Sports

Back to base for LCS?

Published

7 days ago

January 6, 2025

The Post

MASERU

Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) Football Club look set for a long-awaited homecoming to their cherished colliseum when Vodacom Premier League action returns later this month.

It has been three months since the LCS Ground was banned from hosting league games when premiership sponsors, Vodacom, demanded the venue be stripped of hosting rights for the 2024/25 season.

Vodacom was unhappy because the LCS Ground is branded with the colours of their rival telecommunications company, Econet Telecom Lesotho.

‘Masheshena’ has been fighting to regain use of their home ground ever since and, in the meantime, they have been forced to pack their bags and use Bambatha Tšita Sports Arena and Ratjomose Ground as home grounds.

The six-time league champions have struggled without their home turf advantage and find themselves languishing in ninth place having already lost five of their 11 matches this season.

The New Year, however, appears to have brought good tidings for LCS fans and talks between the club, the Premier League and sponsors Vodacom are said to be at an advanced stage.

Speaking to thepost this week, ‘Masheshena’ spokesperson Kofa Rantai confirmed talks have been positive and plans are afoot to have the club back at their home ground.

“The talks are advanced and the plan is to host our second round games at our ground,” Rantai told thepost.

“We still have four games left in the first round and we will play those games in January and maybe one of those games will be at LCS but our plan is for the second round games,” he added.

Not only have LCS had to hire grounds but they have also missed out on precious revenue as other Premier League teams such as Liphakoe and Machokha, used to rent the LCS Ground to use as their home ground.

“In the coming weeks we will know more, however, I can say it has been very costly hosting games at Bambatha because when you hire the ground, you also have to hire a cleaning company.

“Sometimes we played at Ratjomose, which we also had to pay for,” Rantai said.

The Premier League Management Committee (PLMC) chairman, Moeketsi Ramakatsa, confirmed that the LCS ground is set to be part of the Vodacom Premier League season in the second round.

The ban on the venue also gave the PLMC a painful headache because there are not enough grounds that can host elite league matches.

The LCS Ground was one of few arenas that met most of the requirements set out by the PLMC.

Tlalane Phahla

Sports

Likuena Faces Uphill Battle in CHAN Qualifiers

Published

3 weeks ago

December 22, 2024

The Post

Likuena will need a significant turnaround in the second leg of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers after a 2-0 loss to Angola at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Goals from Pedro Pessoa and Caporal in the first half put Lesotho on the back foot early, making a comeback difficult. Head coach Leslie Notši acknowledged the challenges but said his team displayed improved performance in the second half.

“Conceding two early goals that’s where the difference was, they dominated the first half but I thought we came back better in the second half we tried to create opportunities which I think we could have done better, for us that’s something we can build on,” Notši said when speaking to the reporters in a post-match press conference.

He also took note of Angola’s quality and consistency but insisted that his team remains determined to show up and compete in the return leg in Luanda next week. Even though, the odds are stacked against them, Notši sees this as a learning opportunity for his young players.

“It was locally based player but you can see that they have quality in their team. There are a lot of good attributes that we took from the match, there are youngsters in our team and I think they had a good run,” he said.

“The second leg in Luanda is a tough match but we still believe in ourselves, we will give them the respect due to them but at the same time we are going there to be competitive. It’s an opportunity for our boys to get this kind of opportunities to improve themselves,” he continued.

Despite slim chances of qualification, Likuena aims to build on the positives from their first-leg showing.

Likuena squad

Goalkeepers

Tankiso Chaba (LCS), Ntsane Molise (Linare) Leluma Mofoka (Matlama).

Defenders

Rethabile Mokokoane (Matlama), Mohlomi Makhetha (LCS), Thabo Mafatle (Bantu), Mpho Hlephole (Lioli), Thabo Matšoele, Rethabile Rasethuntša (both Linare)

Midfielders

Lisema Lebokollane (Matlama), Jerry Kamela (Lioli), Lehlohonolo Fothoane, Moteloa Khemisi, Hlompho Kalake (all Bantu) Tšepo Toloane, Lehlohonolo Matsau (both LDF), Paseka Maile (Kick4Life).

Forwards

Jane Thabantšo (Matlama), Katleho Makateng (LDF), Keketso Snyders (LCS).

Tlalane Phahla