Mohaila sing praises of Mokhotlong TDS sensation

Lesotho Football Association Talent Development Scheme Manager, Mohaila Letseka has praised the rapid growth of TDS wonderkid, Skosana Manamathela, whose impressive displays have attracted the attention of South African scouts.

The now 16-year-old from Mokhotlong, a district located in the northeast of the capital town, Maseru, was scouted following the roll-out of the Talent Development Scheme in the Kingdom in 2022.

The youngster hit the ground running as the Lesotho Football Association went across the ten districts of Lesotho in search of the best talented youngster after the groundbreaking FIFA initiative was launched.

Likened to late former Lesotho international, Sello “Scalo” Muso, due to his ability to take on defenders with no fear, Skosana’s talents have now caught the attention of South African Academies where he was among the goals when the Lesotho U-17 lost to their South African counterparts.

The youngster has been part of both the Lesotho TDS U-15 team as well as the Lesotho U-17 side, which has played against the likes of South Africa and Eswatini in fine tuning their preparations for the upcoming CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations COSAFA Qualifiers.

“He is still a drop in the ocean but proves that if we work harder on programmes like the Talent Development Scheme, the future is bright for our country,” Letseka says.

“Secondly, I would say we are on the right track as far as the mission and objectives of TDS are concerned of giving a talent everywhere a chance because this is a boy who was scouted in Mokhotlong, deep in highlands of Lesotho, where the feeling was that kids from those areas are never given a chance to play.

“This will no doubt be a motivation to other kids coming from districts in the highlands as well as Skosana himself to work even harder on his game.”

Letseka is confident that the Lesotho Football Association will continue to unearth more talented players through many of its programmes targeting young talent across the country.

“Skosana is one player we are very proud of with the progress made since he was scouted for TDS and seeing him make a difference in our national teams as well as attracting scouts is a cherry on top,” the LeFA TDS said.

“We started with him at a very young age, and this is a huge milestone for us as the department and the Association.

“We will continue to motivate the player to keep his feet on the ground and work hard on his football career as well as his academics,” he concluded.