Former Bloemfontein Celtic defensive stalwart Tséliso ‘Frisco’ Khomari has died after a car accident in his native Lesotho, the country’s football association has confirmed.
Khomari spent two seasons at Celtic in 1985, when the club won the Mainstay Cup, and in 1986 when he was in the team that lost in the Champions of Champions final to Kaizer Chiefs at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
It was the first time the Free State club, then owned by Petrus Molemela, reached major finals. They had a squad, under coach Dave Roberts, made up of an extensive number of foreigners, including his Basotho compatriots goalkeeper Ronnie Malefetsane and midfielder Ambrose Mosala.
Khomari also played at Welkom Real Hearts in the old NPSL while in Lesotho and was on the books at School Boys, Matlama, Rovers and Bantu FC. He won caps for Lesotho in 1980 when the kingdom competed in both World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
After his playing career ended, Khomari rose to become a vice president of the Lesotho Football Association before being appointed Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Communications, Science, Technology and Innovation.
"We will forever be indebted to legends like Ntate 'Frisco' for playing a pivotal role in elevating our football on and off the field," said the LeFA President Lijane Nthunya in a statement on Monday.