CBS Lends a Giving Hand to Community Football
THUATHE is a monolith that stands out majestically over the city of Maseru like a sleeping giant. Like Lesotho’s legendary fortress, Thaba-Bosiu, this mountain is a plateau with a vast top and a gently undulating terrain of lush rolling meadows, crop fields, creeks and rock formations. The plateau is dotted with dispersed villages that hide in plain sight from the madding crowds of the Maseru metropolis. Known as Sehlabeng sa Thuathe, this area falls within the district administration of Berea. The villagers in this area are well-known for their organic farming prowess, carried out on fertile mountain soil. Oblivious to the stresses and strains of urban Maseru at the foot of the plateau, the collective community stretching all the way to areas close to Teyateyaneng enjoys a life of peace, while they are semi-rural, without the amenities enjoyed by the urban communities.
For the people on the hill, this past festive season Father Christmas came early. He arrived in the form of
Computer Business Solutions (CBS), which visited the Berea community with a generous financial infusion to assist them in financing a football tournament where the villages pitted themselves against one another in the month of December, 2022.
In a bid to uplift the Berea community and improve the level of football in the area, CBS donated a total amount of M200,000.00 plus an assortment football equipment including soccer balls, team kits, bibs, medals, shin guards, gloves, goal nets, practice cones and first-aid kits, towards the tournament. The exciting event kept Berea buzzing with festive football fervor from kick-off on 17th December until the final on 8th January, 2023. All in all, 16 teams participated in the tournament, namely, Buasono United, Malimo FC, Liphakoe FC, Liphafa FC, Manka FC, Litau FC, Lilemela FC, Lits’akajoe FC, Limited FC, Likoena FC, Rangers FC, New Born FC, Snipers FC, Phamokate FC, Lancer’s Gap, Eagles FC and Home Stars FC.
The scintillating Final saw Home Stars face-off head-to head with Malimo, and when the dust settled, Home Stars emerged the proud winners of the tournament. Behind runners-up Malimo came Buasono United at third place, with Liphafa FC wrapping up the top four.
Together with the winning trophy, Home Stars walked away with a M10,000.00 cash prize and M10,000 worth of equipment and gold medals. Malimo earned themselves M8,000.00 cash and equipment worth M8,000.00 plus silver medals. Bua Sono United grabbed M5,000.00 cash, M5,000.00 in equipment and bronze medals, while Liphafa were awarded M2,000.00 cash and M2,000.00 worth of equipment. There were also consolation prizes, in the form of M1,000.00 cash and M1,000 worth of prizes for losing teams in the quarter finals, and M1,000 worth of equipment for the losing team in the group stage. CBS
was also generous enough to award other achievers, such as Goalkeeper of the Tournament (M500.00 plus trophy), Top Goal scorer (M500 plus trophy), Best Player of the Tournament (M500 plus Trophy), and Best Young Player of the Tournament (M500 plus trophy).
“We feel humbled to have been afforded the opportunity to do our bit to uplift the Berea community. It is our sincere hope that football in this area will grow from strength to strength, to the extent that teams and players will make a significant mark at the National level and beyond”, said CBS Managing Director, Dr. Mohlalefi Sefika, closing off the tournament.
As a leading company providing enabling digital business solutions, CBS continues to contribute to the community as part of its active Corporate Social Initiatives (CSI) programme, as enshrined in its Social Responsibility policy. Through it, the Company strives to make a positive, sustainable impact on the communities in which CBS operates, through investing in and improving quality of life for disadvantaged people and communities in Lesotho.