Rabale Set For Dream Trip To Spain

(MENAFN- The Post) Lesotho women's captain Boitumelo Rabale is one of four the players set for a trip of a lifetime to Spain early next year, courtesy of LaLiga Africa.

The three other players joining Rabale for the experience abroad are South Africa national team players Nthabiseng Majiya, Nompumelelo Nyandeni and Katlego Moletsane, and the quartet's trip is pencilled for January 29 until February 4.

Rabale plays for South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns and has steadily developed into a vital player for the club since joining in 2021. In October, the Mehalalitoe skipper won the 'Best Player of the Tournament' at the 2023 CAF Women's Champions League in Ivory Coast after playing an instrumental role in guiding Sundowns to the final. Rabale went on to score in the final as Sundowns beat Morocco's SC Casablanca 3-0 and she was named the Player of The Match. That made it two African titles for Rabale who also won the CAF Women's Champions League with Sundowns in 2021. Her sustained excellence has caught the eye and now Rabale finds herself on course for a dream trip to explore Spanish football, the current pinnacle of the women's game – Spain's Barcelona are the UEFA Women's Champions League champions while Spain ran out FIFA Women's World Cup winners in August. LaLiga, Spain's professional football league, first opened its offices in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2015, in what was its first representation on the African continent. Since then, they have positively impacted the lives of young players across the continent with Lesotho's own Rabale now set to become one of the players to benefit from the work of LaLiga Africa. In partnership with the region's mother body, COSAFA, LaLiga Africa have been able to send over 20 young players from Southern Africa to Spain to experience LaLiga first hand and get exposure to world-class coaching methods from LaLiga clubs. The experience is meant to help the players grow in their professional football careers and, speaking to thepost on Friday, LaLiga Africa managing director, Tresor Penku, said they have a lot of projects planned in the coming year and Lesotho will benefit from the work LaLiga is doing.
In fact, Penku was scheduled to be in Lesotho last week but had to cancel at the last minute. “We are very committed to the continent, using the power of football to positively inspire the communities where we are present,” he said. “We have different delegates all over the continent covering 28 countries. We have delegates in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Angola, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa also,” Penku added. Besides academies and football activities, LaLiga Africa is involved off the field in aspects such as business and marketing courses while working with different stakeholders.
By 2022, the LaLiga programme had reached over 600 projects led by 900 LALIGA coaches across nearly 50 countries, benefitting more than 200,000 players. “The objective is to grow the LaLiga brand, helping in footballing development in countries where we are, and get closer to our fans of which there are millions of them across the continent,” Penku explained. “We think it was necessary to be close to our fans, to listen to them and get an insight on how we can better the relationship and make it long-term.” The inaugural LaLiga Camps were first held in South Africa in 2021 and 2022 and attracted over 300 young boys and girls participating alongside 70 coaches. This year, these camps were expanded to accommodate over 200 junior footballers. This year saw LaLiga introduce their girls teams made up of 18 players from various countries, including Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, Brazil, and Japan. Eight of them were from Africa. The main objective of LaLiga's office when it opened in Africa was to position the brand on the continent and approach African fans who follow Spanish football. Since then, LaLiga have had numerous activations across South Africa and the rest of the continent with the aim of growing the LaLiga brand. Over 600 football activations spearheaded by LaLiga have been held across the continent. Tlalane Phahla

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