Ex-Lesotho captain Basia Makepe hangs boots after 16-year career

Former Lesotho national team captain Basia Makepe has announced his retirement from football.

A statement on Lesotho Football Association (LFA) official website confirmed the decision further saying by doing so, Makepe had brought the curtain down on a 16-year career which started in the dusty streets of Motsemocha in Leribe.

On his decision to hang boots, Makepe said: “I had a wonderful career though it had its ups and downs which I can say, it’s part of life, but I can’t complain because I had a fabulous time out on the pitch as a footballer.

“Coming from outside Maseru, which we sometimes think is a disadvantage, I never imagined myself being the captain of the national teams from Makoanyane XI to Likuena, but I guess the respect I had for what I was doing or love is the one that attracted the my coaches to make me their captain.

“Being chosen as the captain at every club I played for, and the national teams came as a surprise because when I arrived, I would find seasoned players that have been in the game longer than me, but I was consistent with the way I conducted myself to continue being handed that responsibility until I hanged my boots.”

One of his major achievements was captaining the Lesotho National U20 side to the then African Youth Championship in 2011 as well as leading Likuena to the final of the COSAFA Cup in 2023, which was for the first time in 23-years.