Seabata Mahao
The annual Alliance High School Soccer Tournament will return for its second edition starting from May 13 at district level, tournament organisers confirmed this week.
The finals will take place on July 1 at the LCS Ground in Maseru.
The tournament will feature male high school teams from Maseru, Mafeteng, Berea and Leribe districts, with the games being held under the auspices of Lesotho Institute Schools Association (LISA), which is sponsored by Alliance Insurance.
Alliance Insurance signed a three- year sponsorship agreement with LISA towards supporting the tournament in 2022.
The insurance giant has injected M250,000 to be used for event administration, organisation, prizes and playing kits during the tournament.
The competition will see each of the four districts having teams competing at district level for an overall winner to represent the district in the finals, which will accommodate four teams.
This means that four district champions will fight it out in the national finals for the ultimate winner of the tournament.
District level matches are scheduled to start from May 13 during weekends, while the finals are set for July 1 at the LCS Ground in Maseru.
Alliance Insurance’s Head of Group Marketing and Corporate Communications, ‘Makeabetsoe Mabaleha said the aim behind the tournament is to invest in football development as they have seen that premier league football clubs are struggling to develop young players.
“Through this tournament, Alliance Insurance aims to reignite the love of sport amongst our schools and a sense of oneness. Soccer is known to teach children skills such as teamwork, perseverance and decision-making, which they can be able to apply to all aspects of their lives,†Mabaleha said.
She said the games would also provide a platform for premier league teams to scout for talent.
Alliance is also the main sponsor of four premier league clubs Matlama, Lioli, Linare and LCS FC. The four clubs will be involved tournament to assist with facilities such as football grounds among others.
Also speaking at the launch, LISA president, Teboho Pholo, expressed gratitude at the contribution made by Alliance in the grassroots development of sports in the country.
“Our work is to extract talent from the grassroots level and with this sponsorship from Alliance, our work will be easier. With this tournament we can display the talent we have at school level and present it to developed teams in the country.
“To have a sponsor like Alliance says they saw something good in our work and we promise to keep at it going forward,†Pholo said.
St. Rose High School from Leribe won the inaugural tournament in 2022.
