Meet Mapulane Phohleli — The Iron Lady of Lesotho Football
By the time you end this story, you’ll imagine within the unstoppable energy of sport and the African ladies utilizing it to vary the world.
She’s been known as many issues: a pressure, a trailblazer, an indomitable warrior. But on the bottom in Lesotho’s mountain-ringed villages, they know her merely as M’e Mapulane, the girl who builds desires the place nobody else dares.
As the G100 Global Chair for Sports Empowerment and Championships: Mission Million, and the powerhouse behind Mot’seeo FC, Mapulane Phohleli is altering what’s potential for ladies and ladies in sport, not simply in her homeland, however throughout Africa.
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“Losing my husband… I realised I had two choices: To be broken or to build. I chose the latter,” she says. “Sport, particularly football, became a sanctuary and a weapon, not of war, but of unity. Through it, I discovered my calling: to nurture potential, unify communities, and empower women. Football gave me a voice, and I now use it to echo the voices of many others.”
And echo, it has.
From dusty pitches in Lesotho to world coverage platforms, her voice has carried. Today, it shapes conversations round entry, fairness, and visibility for ladies in sport, particularly these removed from the limelight.
For Phohleli, true success has nothing to do with trophies.
“Success, to me, is when a girl from the remotest village of Lesotho or a bustling slum in Nairobi can dream, and live that dream, through sport. It’s not just medals or media coverage; it’s about opportunity, dignity, access, and inclusion.”
Raised in a house anchored in self-discipline, she credit her upbringing within the Kingdom of Lesotho for shaping her resilience and her fierce sense of goal.
“Lesotho raised me like a baby soldier. My father, a former police officer and army man, instilled discipline and courage.”
“Growing up in a landlocked kingdom taught me to swim against the current, quite literally, I am a self-taught swimmer and now teach others with hydrophobia.”
What’s standing in the way in which of progress for ladies in African sport?
“Systemic underfunding, cultural biases, and the underrepresentation of women in decision-making roles,” she says. “One of the primary challenges facing women in Africa today is the lack of support, whether from their families, communities, or national leadership.”
“Many girls are withdrawn from sports at puberty due to societal expectations and norms. Female athletes often receive minimal media coverage and limited commercial backing.”
But she isn’t ready for change. She’s constructing it.
“We need intentional policy, quotas for women in leadership, gender-sensitive infrastructure, and grassroots funding,” she insists.
Through Mot’seeo FC, Phohleli is rewriting the foundations. The membership isn’t only a area to coach, it’s a motion wrapped in love and liberation.
“At Mot’seeo, we teach life skills, financial literacy, leadership, and self-esteem alongside athletic training. Our girls don’t just kick balls, they build businesses, lead communities, and champion causes.”
“Sport is the bridge – development is the destination.”
And the tales that emerge from this sacred floor are nothing wanting extraordinary.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, Her Majesty the Queen of the Kingdom of Lesotho, our patron, identified a family in need. Mot’seeo FC members contributed everything they had, rallied friends, and built a house for the family.”
“In 2023, on World Cancer Day, we fed 20,000 children all over Lesotho in one day. That’s the power of our community.”
Phohleli doesn’t simply construct athletes, she builds entrepreneurs.
“Sport teaches strategy, discipline, risk, and resilience, the very DNA of entrepreneurship,” she says. “At Mot’seeo, we run a ‘Boots to Business’ program, helping girls turn their passion into profit. Not a handout but a hand up.”
Her work stretches throughout nations and causes. And when requested who conjures up her, she doesn’t hesitate:
“I love Rwanda for its gender illustration in management, which trickles into sports activities.
Scandinavian nations are trailblazers. But nearer to residence, I draw immense inspiration from South African ladies in sport, particularly initiatives like gsport4girls.”
“gsport is revolutionary. It’s more than media; it’s a movement. It has validated countless female athletes and spotlighted stories otherwise buried.”
Phohleli is set to construct a world the place ladies lead boldly, and ladies rise, regardless of the place they begin.
“Mentorship, exposure, funding, and safe spaces,” she says. “We must invest in leadership clinics, send girls to global forums, and let them sit at tables of power. But most importantly, we must believe in them, loudly, consistently, and without condition.”
And her dream?
“A legacy of lifted lives and lit paths. I want generations to say: ‘Because she dared, I did too.’ I hope to leave behind a global sisterhood of empowered women and children who used sport not just to win games — but to change the world.”
Mapulane Phohleli isn’t simply altering lives. She’s altering methods, mindsets, and potentialities. From the heights of the Maloti mountains to the worldwide enviornment, her mission is obvious: to verify no woman is ever left on the sidelines.
As gsport Founder and G100 Global Advisor, Kass Naidoo displays: “Women like Mapulane show us what’s possible when courage meets purpose.”
“She reminds us why Africa matters, not just as a place of heritage, but as a wellspring of leadership, talent, and vision. On this Africa Day, we salute her and all the women changing the game for good.”
Main Photo Caption: Mot’seeo FC powerhouse and G100 Global Chair for Sports Empowerment and Championships: Mission Million, Mapulane Phohleli is known as many issues: a pressure, a trailblazer, an indomitable warrior, and in Lesotho’s mountain-ringed villages, the girl who builds desires the place no-one else dares. All Photo: Supplied
Photo 2 Caption: “Losing my husband… I realised I had two choices: To be broken or to build. I chose football as a weapon of unity.”
Photo 3 Caption: Marking her fiftieth birthday, Phohleli says: “Football gave me a voice, and I now use it to echo the voices of many others.”
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