Curtain comes down on Lesotho’s top flight

…relegation battle set for dramatic photo finish

…Lijabatho to be officially crowned champions

Leemisa Thuseho

THE curtain finally comes down on the 2025/26 Vodacom Premier League season this weekend, with the final round of fixtures set to decide several key positions across the table.

While champions Lijabatho have already sealed the title, attention now turns to their official coronation, the battle for survival, and the race for top-four and top-eight finishes.

Champions’ crowning

The weekend’s fixtures will be headlined by the official crowning of Lijabatho as the new league champions after dethroning defending champions Lioli.

The Morija-based outfit will be hoping to conclude their remarkable campaign in style when they take on Matlama at Setsoto Stadium in the season finale.

James Madidilane’s charges head into the encounter having already secured the championship in emphatic fashion following their dominant 4-0 victory over Lioli last weekend. The result opened an unassailable four-point lead at the summit of the standings.

The win moved Lijabatho to 62 points, putting them beyond the reach of closest challengers Bantu and Matlama, who can only finish the season with a maximum of 61 points.

Matlama are expected to give the new champions a guard of honour before kick-off in what promises to be a historic occasion as Lijabatho lift their maiden Premier League trophy.

Top-four race

There is still plenty to play for at the top end of the table, with pride, prize money and final standings all at stake.

Second-placed Bantu, on 58 points, will be aiming to hold onto their position when they visit LMPS at PTC Ground. The Mafeteng giants need victory to guarantee a runners-up finish.

Dropping points could see them surrender second place to Matlama, who are level on points but trail on goal difference. Should Bantu fail to win, Matlama could move into second place if they avoid defeat against Lijabatho.

Although both teams have already secured top-four finishes, the battle for the final standings remains intense.

The fight for the last top-four spot will go down to the wire between fourth-placed Lifofane and fifth-placed Matjantja.

Lifofane currently occupy fourth position with 57 points, three ahead of Matjantja, who sit on 54 points. The two sides are set for a high-stakes showdown at Russel Technical Centre in Mohale’s Hoek.

For Matjantja, only victory will suffice — and it must come by at least a 4-0 margin — if they are to leapfrog Lifofane into fourth place. Such a result would leave both teams tied on 57 points, but Matjantja would edge ahead on goal difference, improving theirs to 19 compared to Lifofane’s projected 18.

At present, Lifofane have a goal difference of 18, while Matjantja’s stands at 15.

Lifofane, meanwhile, need only a draw to secure a top-four finish, although victory would further strengthen their position.

A win for Lifofane could also potentially propel them as high as second place on the table, provided both Bantu and Matlama lose their respective fixtures.

Top-eight battle

After failing to defend their title and missing out on a top-four finish, Lioli have at least secured a place inside the top eight.

Currently sixth on 49 points, Lioli will be targeting maximum points against Members to cement their position. Any slip-up could see them drop to seventh if LDF, who are on 47 points, beat already relegated Maroala at Ratjomose Ground.

Meanwhile, Linare remain under pressure in the battle for eighth place. The Leribe-based outfit sit eighth on 43 points, just one point ahead of ninth-placed LCS.

Linare must avoid defeat against Manonyane at PTC Ground to remain in control of their destiny.

Should Linare lose and LCS beat Machokha, LCS would move into the top eight. However, if both sides either draw or lose their matches, Linare would still hold onto eighth position.

Relegation battle

While the title race has already been settled, the relegation battle is expected to go down to the wire.

Maroala have already been relegated following their 2-0 defeat to Matlama last weekend. They are rooted at the bottom of the table with 14 points and, even if they beat LDF in their final match, they can no longer escape bottom place.

With two teams set to drop to the A Division, the remaining survival battle is now between Members and Liphakoe, with one of the two sides destined to join Maroala in relegation.

Members currently occupy 14th position with 21 points, while Liphakoe sit 15th on 18 points. Both teams have one match remaining. Liphakoe face Machokha at Ratjomose Ground, while Members have a difficult assignment against Lioli at LCS Ground.

For Liphakoe to survive relegation on the final day, they must beat Machokha and hope Members lose to Lioli.

In that scenario, Liphakoe and Members would finish level on 21 points, but Liphakoe would survive due to a superior head-to-head record, having won the first-round meeting 2-1 before the two sides played to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture.

As for Members, they only need at least a point against Lioli to secure survival. Even if they lose, they can still avoid relegation provided Liphakoe fail to beat Machokha.

Golden Boot race

The race for the Golden Boot also remains alive heading into the final round.

Lijabatho duo, Tumelo Khutlang and Jane Thabatho, currently lead the scoring charts with 18 and 16 goals respectively, and will be aiming to finish the campaign strongly in the champions’ final outing of the season.

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