Vusumuzi Dube
Nkosilathi Sibanda
SIX countries have pulled out of the Confederation African Volleyball (CAVB) Zone VI Nations Championships.
Hosts Zimbabwe Volleyball Association believes the competition will still have its lustre
Countries that have opted out are Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Lesotho, Malawi and Botswana.
This means only Eswatini, Namibia, Zambia and the hosts Zimbabwe will fight for glory in the event slated for the City Sports Centre in Harare.
Zimbabwe Volleyball Association president, Mxolisi Ndlovu confirmed this to Zimpapers Sports Hub yesterday, saying they were advised by the CAVB zonal federation of the latest developments.
Ndlovu said they have been forced to effect changes to the dates of the competition, with games now played from September 26- 30.
Initially, the tournament was planned for September 22 to October 1.
“There has been a slight development to the tournament as the zone has written to us highlighting that some national confederations that have confirmed participation. That means the competition days have also been adjusted.
“So far, the countries that we expect to particopate are the hosts, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia and Eswatini. What has affected most the countries’ participation are budgetary constraints, with some having been to other competitions,” said Ndlovu.
He said the reduced number of teams will not have much of an effect to the level of competition, as they were positive that those taking part will be great competition.
“The impact is on the reduced days but the level of competition won’t be affected much. We have teams from Zambia and Namibia that are well known for playing well. As the hosts we would have loved to see countries such as Mozambique, South Africa and Botswana taking part because they are strong opponents.”
Zimbabwe last played against Namibia and Eswatini in 2013, in what Ndlovu said was going to bring strong competition when these countries clash.
“We believe there will be competition, despite the reduced number of countries taking part. As ZVA we want to assure the nation that we are ready to host,” said Ndlovu.
Meanwhile, the national teams are said to be leaving no stone unturned in their quest to win the tournament on home soil.
Training sessions so far, have presented coaches with enough time to assess their players’ fitness.
Senior men’s team manager Farai Mboto said preparations were going on well.
“As we get nearer to the competition, were are happy that we were able to meet and have some workouts. Sixteen of the 20 players were in camp. We have played two matches against UZ Wolves and we won all of them. We played another with NABA and lost.
“The games gave coaches opportunities to assess the possible combinations and were really an eye opener. We hope to meet again for a long camp in a week’s time and perfect our combinations. No serious injuries,” said Mboto.
Online Reporter