Our Future Young Stars

Dennis Raselimo, Lesotho

Kick4Life F.C is a purpose-driven football club based at the Stadium of Life in Lesotho, engaging young people in interventions across health, education, employability, gender equality and climate action. The organisation also offers employment and training opportunities within their social enterprises, which include an award-winning restaurant and hotel. The Kick4Life women's team became national champions in 2021 and plays an important role in changing attitudes about the role of women and girls in society, on and off the pitch. Through Kick4Life Assist they have also provided coach training, curriculum design and social enterprise development support to other organisations across the world. Dennis Raselimo is a former striker for Kick4Life.

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your football journey?

I am Dennis Raselimo from Qoaling Maseru in Lesotho, and aged 26 I started playing football for Kick4Life Women as a striker. I used to play football almost every day, training during the week and playing a match at weekends. As of now I no longer play elite football. 

I first participated in Kick4Life programming when they visited our school for life skills sessions and the curriculum they delivered used football to transfer important messaging to young people. I was already playing football, but just in the village and at school. In the village I would play with boys and the school competitions were only once a year and I never got to play to my full ability. I did not know that there were teams that played in a league.

I then decided that I wanted to be part of the Kick4Life team, though I was scared to join the team at first. I asked for more information and then became a member of the team. I realised that there was no need to be worried as I received a warm welcome and I enjoyed it.

What did you try to show with the photos? Was there any wider meaning with the photos?

I showed our future young stars playing football in their village and showing off their skills, as well as talented young kids playing football at night and in their community. There are also spectators, games taking place, and a team getting ready for the match and having a team talk. 

I wanted to show that anyone can play football with or without talent at any place, with or without equipment at any given time. I love seeing how passionate these young boys are with football and even night time does not stop them practising their skills.

Our players are always so happy and all they ever talk about is how they are going to become one of the top players in the whole world. Through talking with people in this way, I realised how special football is to them.

Everyone always looks up to their role models and aims to become more like them one day. My role model is Senate Letsie, a woman who broke barriers by being the first woman from Lesotho to obtain a football scholarship in the USA. Senate is an inspiration. 

What impact has Kick4Life had on you?

Kick4Life has had a positive impact on me; I learnt the importance of teamwork and the importance of not judging people and accepting them the way they are. 

I first became a life skills and football coach at Kick4Life. Those have been my biggest achievements. I really enjoyed working with young people on topics such as health. Then another time I was called to help with Kick4Life Soccer Schools and I discovered that I also love coaching football. Since then I have been volunteering as a soccer coach.

What role does football play in your community? What are the opportunities for women and girls to play?

Football creates jobs, it keeps people off the streets and keeps them occupied. It can help some people’s dreams come true. My former teammate Senate is one of them. 

Kick4Life has given many more girls the opportunity to play in the elite league in Lesotho through the Kick4Life’s Women’s team who play in the Women’s Super League. In 2021 we became national champions for the first time. Some girls have also had the chance to play in neighbouring countries like South Africa.

Some women and girls in my community did not get the chance to go to school or even get a job to keep their mind busy. They found football to be their escape because it keeps them occupied and they do not even get a chance to think of things that would spoil their future, like being involved with anything unlawful.

What does football mean to you? What ambitions do you have for the future?

To me football means having a second family, it means therapy and the place where I believe that my strengths matter more than my weaknesses. The greatest ambition I have for the future is to support the young stars playing football from small communities and helping them become the best versions of themselves.

What is the future for football in Lesotho? How would you make sure there is more gender equality?

I see a positive future only if all players can be given the same privileges regardless of their gender. First of all, people need to understand that boys and girls should share the same opportunities, resources, protection and rights. I would make sure that people understand that every child has an opportunity to play football. 

There should be education given to the parents so that they understand that football can be played by everyone and they give their girls the support to take part in the game. I will continue coaching the young children at Kick4Life, so that girls can see that if I am able to play football they can too. I will motivate and create safe spaces for girls to play without stigma and discrimination. 

I want the people in charge of all football clubs in Lesotho to start scouting and be looking for the players themselves, without waiting for individuals to come and ask to be part of the club. This is because I believe that there are people who want to play football but they are far from places where they can even get to join a club or they might even think they would not qualify. It is important to go out to the villages where there are very talented players just waiting to be seen.