Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO Volleyball Association (BVA) will honour players and officials who excelled in the 2017 season at the Praise and Worship Centre on Saturday.
BVA chairperson William Mazviro said the event will also serve to kick start the 2018 season in which they expect more teams to join the league. The league currently consists of five male and five female teams. The 2018 league is set to begin in early March.
Mazviro said lack of sponsorship hampered the growth and development of volleyball in Bulawayo.
“Our major challenge is financial. Teams survive from hand to mouth, which is not ideal. The corporate world plays a major role in the development of sport the world over and most successful clubs are backed by corporates and that is what we desire with our clubs in Bulawayo,” said Mazviro.
“There was an improvement in the game in 2017, as we managed to host the regional club championships. Our desire now is to play host to more international competitions. We have an exciting new crop of players that have displayed loads of talent, but our clubs struggle to participate in the national league due to financial constraints.”
He said they are optimistic of sparking renewed interest in volleyball in Bulawayo.
The Bulawayo community displayed their affection for volleyball when they thronged the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) during the 2017 African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB) Zone VI Club Volleyball championships in December last year.
Support Unit, University of Zimbabwe and Harare City women took part in the championships where they excelled and qualified for the African Club Championships to be held in Egypt later this year.
They stand a chance of playing at the World Club Championships if they do well in the continental club competition.
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