Volleyball championship games dates changed

Blessing Malinganiza

Zimbabwe Volleyball Association president Mxolisi Ndlovu yesterday confirmed that Zimbabwe will continue to host the Confederation African Volleyball (CAVB) Zone VI Nations Championships after six countries pulled out.

Lesotho, Malawi, Botswana, Mozambique, Angola, and South Africa pulled out leaving Eswatini, Namibia, Zambia and the hosts Zimbabwe to battle it out.

The development has led to changes in the dates of the games. The games are now scheduled from September 26 to 30.

Initially, the tournament was scheduled from September 22 to October 1.

In an interview with Zimpapers Sports Ndlovu confirmed the development.

“There has been a slight development to the tournament as the zone has written to us highlighting that some national confederations have confirmed participation. That means the competition days have also been adjusted.

“So far, the countries that we expect to participate 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.

“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.”

“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.