MOLEMO MOKHOTHU

21 YEARS OLD

K4L PLAYER-forward

Why it’s important for girls to play soccer?

It’s really important for girls to play soccer to continually eradicate the point of gender equality in sports globally. Also soccer as a sport helps in the maintenance of healthy lifestyles through exercising and this yields in very open minded people as the soccer solely is a sport of intelligence. Soccer also is a sport of discipline, prohibits girls from engaging in things like drugs, alcohol and teenage pregnancy due to the time spent at fields of play.

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What impact has soccer made on the girls at K4L?

The game has created the spirit of love, oneness, and teamwork amongst the girls. These qualities can now be seen in their everyday lives, where before there was a bit of an absence. The girls have come to realize that being together is a huge benefit and can propel each other in many different areas of their lives, such as education, which they find more engaging and beneficial when they work as a team. This has cultivated a proactive environment where the girls push each other to finish things in the present, but also to achieve more in the future. In a nutshell, the opportunities provided by K4L have intrigued the girls to elevate their own personal goals.

Not only do the girls play soccer at K4L, but they also engage in other activities. This helps them develop deeper values and implement positive behaviors around health, inclusivity, discrimination, and gender equality.

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Although the most interesting aspect is that girls get the opportunity to partake in the national team, therefore, representing their country, and this is due to the improvements made my K4L!

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How does K4L use soccer to change girls’ lives?

K4L has a variety of programs that use the power of soccer to help transform lives as well  as help girls reach their goals.  These programs support girls in all areas of their lives such as personal development and improvement related to empowerment of their wellbeing. With these lessons girls are exposed to enough knowledge and therefore are able to make informed decisions about their future precisely without the pressure from peers or people without the knowledge they gathered in the program thus to help in developing self-confidence and self-esteem and to promote inclusion and key skills such as communication, positively and working with others.

K4L is also the only team so far that has a girls development team which involves an introduction to the sport at an early age because is easier to develop soccer skills at a younger age. Later in life these girls get the chance to be in the senior team.K4L also offers a chance for  women to be part of the various courses within soccer, for example coaching and administration,thereby expanding the opportunities women can have after playing. Furthermore,two girls are now attending US universities, which would have been impossible without the presence of K4L.This in general opens up quite a lot of doors into a very fruitful future in the soccer profession and academic wise.

How has women’s soccer changed within K4L?

Generally, everything about women’s soccer has improved.Before, we used to play just for fun, but now there is a more serious tone. For example, we now have the proper set up and people respect us when we play at kick4life. There is also a proper reception for us because now there is the goal and focus to work towards: Lesotho’s Women’s Super League. Personally, one reason I believe everything has improved is because we are treated like the men’s team. Meaning we have all the required equipment to practice and to prepare for games in a more effective manner. This has all helped towards the overall goal of playing in the Women’s Super League illustrating how far we have come as a team.

The culture of K4L also makes it easier for men to respectus, as women, who play soccer. In terms of fans at the games, the women games aren’t as populated, but needless to say it is evolving! The men and women teams are treated the same, and we enjoy the same opportunities and resources a large departure from the past.

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