Makoanyane XI is the first ever-local team to qualify for a tournament of this magnitude.

In an interview, the Lesotho Football Association (LEFA) administrative secretary, Mr. Sello Lesita, said arrangements had been made for the local side to face Angola three days after the Benin clash, before wrapping up the fixture against Egypt on January 24.

"We are upbeat about the draw as anything is possibly in football," Lesita said about about the draw.

Makoanyane XI will leave in the second week of January, he said, adding that en route to Benin, they hope to play against Cameroon's Under 20 soccer side. They were still waiting for a response from West Africans.

On the current performance of the team in COSAFA championship in South Africa,  Lesita said people should not read much about the tournament, as it is only  preparatory prior to the continental showpiece. It was also possible that the players might have gone into the tournament with their minds already on the continental competition, and were already looking beyond COSAFA.

The poor performance by the local side could also be a wake up call for the players to pull up their socks in order to do well in Africa, he said.

Makoanyane XI lost 1-0 against their rivals Zimbabwe in the COSAFA championship opening game at Orlando stadium in Soweto on Saturday and went down 4-2 against Madagascar in the second match of the tournament.

02 December 2004