ONE of the world’s greatest athletes and a former world heavyweight boxing champion, the late Muhammad Ali once said: “Sportsmanship for me is when a guy walks off the court and you really can’t tell whether he won or lost when he carries himself with pride either way.”
sports
Oct. 1, 2021
TEBOHO JAFETA
5 min read
Distinguished sports supervisor, coach, Naleli Tšilo
Lerotholi Polytechnic FC coach, Naleli Tšilo
Story highlights
Highly committed to sports development
Won 2006/07 season Buddie Premier League Top 4 Cup as LMPS coach
Similar sentiments are shared by former Rovers, defender, Naleli Tšilo, who is today a devoted coach of the A Division, Lerotholi Polytechnic FC commonly known as Lihale.
Naleli also played for the now defunct Arsenal and Ambassadors football clubs which were both based in Maseru.
The 53-year old sports manager has over the years shown great commitment to the development of sports, first as an active footballer and later as sports administrator.
His extensive sports management experience has earned him great respect both at home and on the international front as football coach.
He won the 2006/07 season Buddie Premier League Top 4 Cup as LMPS FC head coach. The following season he won the Imperial Fleet Services Top 8 Cup with the same police side and was honoured with a Commissioner of Police Award for Excellence in 2008 as the team coach.
He was also awarded a Trophy for Best Coach of the Imperial Top-8 Tournament during the 2007/08 season.
Later that year, he joined Lihale and his side became the A-Division Top 8 Tournament Runners up.
He mentored the Lesotho men’s football team at the 2012 Confederation of Universities and Colleges Sports Associations (CUCSA) Games held in Namibia.
He won the 2017 Campaign for Education Forum - Lesotho Universities and Colleges Sports Association (LUCSA) Soccer Tournament with Lerotholi Polytechnic before leading the Lesotho men’s football team to the 2018 CUCSA Games in Gaborone, Botswana.
The following year, he won the LUCSA Soccer Tournament trophy with Lerotholi Polytechnic.
His sports qualifications include the Federation Internationale De Volleyball (FIVB) Level 1 Certificate obtained in Maseru in 2000 and a Certificate for Football and Education in Sports Science obtained in 2003.
The same year (2003), he obtained the German Football Association (DFB) A License and the National Olympic Committee for Germany Certificate on Advanced Level Football.
In 2007, he underwent training with the English Football Association (FA) and obtained an International Coaching License. He obtained an FA Level 1 Certificate in Coaching Football the following year.
In 2009, he obtained a Certificate for high level coaches “Win in Africa with Africa,” a Programme Under the Auspices of FIFA and accomplished the Confederation of African Football (CAF) B-Diploma in 2013.
The following year, he obtained the Specialist Certificate of Periodisation in Football with the World Football Academy, under the endorsement of South African Football Association (SAFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) A-Diploma in 2016.
He has extensive football coaching experience merged with his academic qualifications. Earlier this year, he underwent a “Coaches’ Instructor” course under the auspices of CAF.
Tšilo holds a Diploma of Science in Education obtained from the National University of Lesotho (NUL) in 1990 and a Bachelor of Science in Education from the same institution obtained in 1997. In 2003, he obtained a Football and Education in Sports Science Certificate from the Leipzig University in Germany before obtaining a NMMU/FIFA/CIES Post Graduate Certificate in Sports Management from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in 2011.
As a coach, he registered several achievements under his belt.
He won the 1993 Coca-Cola Maluti Mountain Brewery (MMB) High Schools Championship with the Masianokeng High School football team.
He was also part of the squad that won the Nathanael Lepota Cup with the same team in 2006.
Born on January, 16, 1968, Naleli Tšilo is the son of ’Maphoka and the late Mahooana Tšilo of Ha Mphoto, Mazenod on the outskirts of Maseru.
He is the last born in the family of four children, three boys and a girl, bred in Ha Mphoto.
After he completed his primary education at Leqetsoana Primary in Ha Mphoto in 1981, he went to study at Masianokeng High School where he completed in 1986.
He was an active footballer in high school and represented his school in the Lesotho Institutions Sports Association (LISA) Games.
In 1987, he attended a Lesotho Science Pre-Entry Course (LESPEC) which was located on the Lerotholi Polytechnic campus.
As a no-nonsense defender, he started at the C-Division side Mphoto Naughty Boys in 1980 until 1984 when he joined ‘The Gunners’.
In 1987, he joined Rovers FC when entered NUL where he remained until 1991. The following year he joined Ambassadors where he spent two seasons before he returned to his old club, Rovers.
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He officially hung his soccer boots at the NUL team in 1997.
His career as a teacher began at his old school, Masianokeng where he taught Mathematics.
He later joined the Examinations Council of Lesotho (ECOL) and worked part-timely as Examiner.
He is currently the Lerotholi Polytechnic Sports Coordinator and the senior football team head coach.
Some of the people who contributed towards grooming him into the quality player he became include his former high school coach Tefo Mabote, his former coach at Arsenal, the late Styles Phumo, his former coaches at Rovers, Mafole Sematlane and the late Monaheng “Dog” Monyane, fellow teammate at Ambassadors, Tšeliso “Frisco” Khomari and former LMPS co-coach, the late Mafa “Ribbo” Ramakau.
As a young upcoming player, he was inspired by Likotsi “Volks” Letsoela, former Mazenod High School and Swallows FC player and Khomari.
Describing him, Khomari says Tšilo was a very disciplined and devoted player.
Khomari who owned and played for Ambassadors said: “He would fully camp before a match without being pushed. He was a talented player but owing to his amazing discipline, he outshone even some of the most gifted players in the team.”
Tšilo is married to Koena Moeketsi now ’Makabelo Tšilo and the couple is blessed with two children - a girl and a boy.
His other hobbies include exercising and reading.
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