As mentioned earlier in the document, the Lesotho Football Association is desirous of introducing a Club Licensing System and Compliance Manual applicable to Premier League and A- Division Clubs at the start of the 2011/12 season: by 1stJune 2011 to be precise. For a club to be award an operating license it will have to satisfy a certain criteria which are set herein as follows:

On a season to season basis each club shall be required to submit an application to compete in the upcoming season. By having to register or apply for the license annually the Lesotho Football Association will be in a position to monitor compliance with the criteria and be able to issue licenses only to teams that meet the criteria. Those teams that do not meet the criteria will be given provisional licenses until such time that they comply. However, if after the provisional period a team still does not comply, such a team shall be relegated or docked points or even fined.

It is important that the sporting integrity of league and club competitions be protected. To this end, the Lesotho Football Association will reserve the right to intervene and take appropriate action in any situation which it transpires that an individual is in a position to influence the management, administration and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in the same club competition. A consideration in terms of the Legal Criteria be such that each club that is to compete in either the Lesotho Premier League or the Lesotho A Division shall submit a legally valid declaration confirming the following:

a. It recognizes as legally binding the constitution, rules and regulations and decisions of the respective league and most importantly those of the Lesotho Football Association:
b. It recognizes the judicial bodies of the respective leagues (if in place) and those of the Lesotho Football Association and that of CAS (Court of Arbitration in Sport) in Lausanne:
c. It recognizes the prohibition of recourse to ordinary courts of law as laid down in the Constitution of the Lesotho Football Association and the FIFA Statutes:
d. That at national level (within the jurisdiction of the Lesotho Football Association) it will play in competitions that are recognized and endorsed by the Lesotho Football Association (i.e. national championships and cup competitions):
e. It undertakes to abide by and to observe the provisions and conditions of Lesotho Football Association’s Club Licensing regulations:
f. It authorizes the Lesotho Football Association to examine documents and seek information, and in the event of any appeal procedure to seek information from any relevant public authority (i.e. banks, insurance companies and not limited to these) or private body regarding the operations of the club:

a. The license applicant (club) must submit a copy of valid statutes or constitution:

The license applicant must submit a legally valid declaration outlining the ownership structure and control mechanism of the club and confirming the following:
That no natural or legal person involved in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of the club, either directly or indirectly:
a. Holds shares in any another club participating in the same league or competition: or
b. Holds voting rights of any other club participating in the same league or competition: or
c. Is a member of any other club participating in the same league or competition.

The objectives of the personnel and administrative criteria are that the applicant of the license should have the following:
a. A physical office equipped with the following amenities to allow it to be able to operate: basic computer system, a telephone, fax, email, office furniture:
b. The License Applicant (Club) should appoint and contract a General Manager responsible for the running of its daily business (operative) matter. Such an appointment should be made by an appropriate body – i.e. the Executive Board of the license applicant:

The objectives of the Technical criteria are that the applicant of the license should have the following:
a. The License Applicant (Club) should appoint and contract a Head Coach responsible for football matters of the first team squad. Such an appointment should be made by an appropriate body – i.e. the Executive Board of the license applicant:
b. The appointed Head Coach should hold coaching licenses and certificates as prescribed by the Lesotho Football Association:

For the future of football it is absolutely necessary to have a broad base of footballers available who have the necessary skills and motivation to become elite league players. Therefore, it is important to foster youth development programmes and to attract into football more and better-educated boys and girls who not only play the game but are also supporters.
The License applicant must have a written youth development programme approved by the Technical Director of the Lesotho Football Association. The education programme must include at least the following:
i. Objectives and youth development philosophy:
ii. Football education programme for the different age groups (playing skills, technical, tactical and physical):
iii. Education on the Laws of the Game:
iv. The license applicant must have at least the following youth teams within its programmes:
i. At least one U15 team
ii. At least one team in the range U17 to U19

It is appreciated that nowadays people only follow events that are attractive, entertaining, and are worth spending a certain amount of money on. A match between two football teams is no longer enough to bring people into a football stadium to watch a live match. Therefore, each club, together with the stadium owner and the local community, should try to provide stadium that is attractive to visit, safe and secure, and is easily accessible. The License applicant must have a stadium available to host club competitions. Alternative 1: the License applicant (Club) legally owns the stadium: Alternative 2: The License applicant (club) may provide a written contract with owner of a stadium or with owners of different stadia it will use within the territory of the Lesotho Football Association. This contract guarantees the use of the stadium for home matches in the coming season which the club qualifies in sporting terms. A certain stadium criteria shall be communicated to the clubs pertaining to the minimum stadium standards for each sporting season at the end of the preceding sporting season.

Clubs shall be required to sign a declaration that will subject them to spot audits by the Lesotho Football Association. These spot audits will be geared towards providing information regarding the contracted club personnel to ascertain whether payments are being made to them as per requirements and also to monitor the finances of clubs.

During the season, clubs shall be required to provide information to their stakeholders, in this case their supporters, sponsors and other consumers of such information that the club may want to disperse to. In this regard, the clubs will be required to issue at least two press releases per month with a copy of such press releases being submitted to the office of the Information Officer at the Lesotho Football Association. Furthermore, clubs will be required to hold one mandatory press conference every month. In these press conferences, the Head Coach and the General Manager are expected to provide updates of the clubs’ activities. A copy of such a press conference is to be submitted to the office of the Lesotho Football Association’s Information Officer.

1. REGISTRATION PERIODS
There shall be two registration periods each season. The first registration period shall start on the 01st June every year and shall have two phases, the License Application period and the Technical Registration period. The first registration period shall end on the 31st August every year. The second registration period shall be from the 01st January to the 31st January every year.

The License Application period shall start on the 01st June every year. This period is intended for the teams to apply for their licenses to play in their respective divisions for the upcoming season. It is in this period that the teams will submit the various documents and forms as well as declarations required for them to be issued with a Club License for the upcoming year. Upon satisfying the set criterion, clubs will then be given a unique registration disc for them to be able to commence with the Technical Registration.

The 1st Registration period shall start on the 15th of June every year. This period is intended for the teams to register their players and officials that will be used during the year. The registration will be done through the unique registration disc that will have been distributed to the teams at the end of the License Application period. 4

The 2nd Registration period shall start on the 01st of January and end on the 31st January every year. This period is intended for the teams to transfer and register new players that will be used during the year. The registration will be done through the unique registration disc that will have been distributed to the teams at the start of the 1st Registration Period