Lesotho women's national football team

The Lesotho women's national football team, also known affectionately as Mehalalitoe ("The Beautiful Flowers"), represents Lesotho in international women's football. Governed by the Lesotho Football Association (LFA), the team has demonstrated steady progress in recent years, particularly within the regional Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) competitions.

History The senior team is nicknamed the Beautiful Flowers.

On 28 March 1998, Lesotho played Mozambique in Mozambique. The game was tied 0–0 at the half before Mozambique scored three goals to win the game 3–0. In Maseru on 19 April 1998, Lesotho again played Mozambique. Lesotho was up 2–1 at the half and went on to win the game 4–2. In 2002, the team played 4 games. The country participated in the 2002 COSAFA Women's Championship in Harare, Zimbabwe. They were in Group A. They lost on 19 April to Zimbabwe 0–15, lost to Malawi 0–3 on 21 April, and lost to Zambia 1–3 on 23 April. In 2003, the team played 1 game. In 2004, the team played 1 game. In 2005, the team played 2 games. In 2005, Zambia was supposed to host a regional COSAFA women's football tournament, with ten teams agreeing to send teams including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland.

In 2006, the team had 3 training sessions a week and played 2 games. The country participated in the 2006 Council of Southern Africa Football Associations women's tournament in Lusaka. They were in Group B. On 22 August, they lost to South Africa 0–9. On 23 August, the team lost to Malawi 0–3. The national team's poor performance was contributed to by the fact that they only held a training camp for the competition a week before it started. In 2006, the national team coach was Lethola Masimong. Masimong wanted a national league created in the country in order to help develop the game and improve the national team's performance. His comments came after the team was eliminated from the 2006 Confederation of Southern African Football Associations tournament.

In 2010, the country did not have a team competing in the African Women's Championships. The country did not have a team competing at the 2011 All Africa Games. In July 2011, the team played several games in Harare. On 2 July 2011, the Lesotho played Zimbabwe, losing 0–4. On 2 July, they played Mozambique. At half time, they were tied 2–2 but went on to win the game 3–2. On 5 July, they lost to Malawi 2–5. The games were part of the 2011 COSAFA Women's Championship. On 17 August 2011, in a game in Maseru, they lost 0–4 to Mozambique.

In 2006, Lesotho women's national football team was ranked 125. In 2007, they were ranked 144. In 2008, they were ranked 117. In 2009, they were ranked 92. In 2010, they were ranked 128. In 2011, they were ranked 136. In March 2012, they were ranked 135th best in the world. In June 2012, the team was ranked the 135th best in the world.

The following years saw a surge in Mehalalitoe's activity. The team consistently competed in the COSAFA Women's Championship, a tournament featuring national teams from Southern Africa.

In the 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship, Mehalalitoe faced strong competition in the group stages. They fell short against Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Botswana, but their performance showcased promising developments.

Looking beyond COSAFA tournaments, Mehalalitoe participated in a friendly match against Botswana on April 6, 2024. Though they faced a narrow defeat, the game served as valuable preparation for upcoming qualifiers.

Background and development Early development of the women's game at the time colonial powers brought football to the continent was limited as colonial powers in the region tended to take make concepts of patriarchy and women's participation in sport with them to local cultures that had similar concepts already embedded in them. The lack of later development of the national team on a wider international level symptomatic of all African teams is a result of several factors, including limited access to education, poverty amongst women in the wider society, and fundamental inequality present in the society that occasionally allows for female specific human rights abuses. When quality female football players are developed, they tend to leave for greater opportunities abroad. Continent wide, funding is also an issue, with most development money coming from FIFA, not the national football association. Future, success for women's football in Africa is dependent on improved facilities and access by women to these facilities. Attempting to commercialize the game and make it commercially viable is not the solution, as demonstrated by the current existence of many youth and women's football camps held throughout the continent. Nada Grkinic was FIFA's international development manager. In 2007, one of her goals was to work on improving women's football in Africa and included work specifically pertaining to Lesotho.

The national federation was created in 1932. They joined FIFA in 1964. Their kit includes blue, white and green shirts, white shorts, and blue and white socks.

Football is the third most popular sport in the country, behind netball and athletics. Inside Lesotho, football is used to develop women's self-esteem. In 2006, there were 5,200 registered female football players, of which 5,000 were junior players and 200 were senior players. The number of female players has been increasing. In 2000, there were 210 registered players. In 2001, there were 350 registered players. In 2002, there were 480 registered players. In 2003, there were 750 registered players. In 2004, there were 2,180 registered players. In 2005, there were 4,600 registered players. In 2006, there were 5,200 registered players. In 2006, there were 61 total football clubs in the country, with 54 being mixed gendered teams and 7 being all women teams. Rights to broadcast the 2011 Women's World Cup in the country were bought by the African Union of Broadcasting.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2025

2026

Coaching staff Current coaching staff

Role Name Ref. Head coachShalane Lehohla

Managerial history

Lehloenya Nkhasi (20xx - 2022): The specific start date of Nkhasi's tenure is uncertain. Their time as manager marks a period of increased activity for the team, particularly in the COSAFA Women's Championship. While direct citations are difficult to find, their involvement can be inferred from news articles and tournament results during this period. Pule Khojane (2022–Present): The current manager of Mehalalitoe, leading the team through recent COSAFA tournaments and friendly matches.

Lehloenya Nkhasi(20xx–2022) Pule Khojane (2022-202?) Shalane Lehohla(202?-)

Players

Current squad The following players were named for the[2025 COSAFA Women's Championship]] on February 2026.

Recent call-ups The following players have been called up to the Lesotho squad in the past 12 months.

Previous squads COSAFA Women's Championship 2022 COSAFA Women's Championship squad 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship squad

Competitive record FIFA Women's World Cup FIFA Women's World Cup recordYearResultGPWD*LGFGAGD 1991Did not exist 1995 1999 2003 2007Did not enter 2011 2015Did not qualify 2019Did not enter 2023 2027To be determinedTotal0/10-------

Olympic Games Summer Olympics recordYearResult* 1996Did not exist 2000 2004 2008Did not Qualify 2012 Did not enter 2016 2020 2024Total0/80000000 *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Africa Women Cup of Nations Africa Women Cup of Nations recordYearResultMatchesWins DrawsLossesGFGA 1991 to 2004Did not exist 2006 to 2012 Did not enter 2014Did not Qualify 2016Did not enter 2018 2020Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Africa 2022Did not enter 2024 Did not enter Total0/12------

African Games African Games recordYearResultMatchesWins DrawsLossesGFGAGD 2003Did Not exist 2007Did Not enter 2011 2015 2019 2023Total0/5000000

Regional COSAFA Women's Championship COSAFA Women's Championship recordYearRound* 2002Group stage 2006 Group stage 2008 Did not enter 2011 Group stage3102511−6 2017 Group stage310227−5 2018 Group stage3003110−9 2019Did not enter 2020 Group stage2002017−17 2021 Did not enter 2023Group stage300306-6 2025Group stage3013312-9TotalGroup stage172 1 1311 63 −52 *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Lesotho women's national football team

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