Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze-Zimpapers Sports Hub
FOLLOWING their successful feat at zonal level, Zimbabwe men’s volleyball team now want to conquer the continent.
Their mission remains that of punching their ticket to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles in the US.
Although the continental qualifiers are only pencilled in for October, the Zimbabwe Volleyball Association have resolved to keep the foot on the pedal and are not leaving anything to chance.
ZVA have already started preparations for the continental assignment in the Democratic Republic of Congo in October.
This comes after almost failing to host the zonal competition due to lack of funding, only for the association to be rescued by Zimbabwe Olympic Committee in the 11th hour.
Having learnt the hard way, ZVA believe there is little time between October and now and want the men’s team to immediately get back to work.
ZVA have also extended their begging bowl, calling on sponsors and partners to help the team ahead of the African Qualifiers.
“The manner in which our teams performed is beyond what we expected especially considering our preparations and the little to none funding in the game,” said head coach Itsanang Abu-Basutu.
“As a coach you would want more because it is always easier working with a motivated team under good conditions.”
The men’s team emerged champions in the tournament after grabbing a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Zambia in the zonal final.
Abu-Basutu was crowned “Coach of the Tournament” in the men’s side with Arnold Simulezi voted the best in the women’s section.
Zimbabwe could, however, only settle for silver in the women’s category, with Zambia winning through.
However, the locals bagged most of the individual accolades, with Tracy Njanji collecting two as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and Best Attacker.
Veteran captain Nyengeterai Guyo walked away as the Best Opposite Hitter, while Trish Gadza was crowned as Best Libero and Noreen Manhai named Best Middle Blocker.
Abu-Basutu feels the performances by local teams is indicative of Zimbabwe’s huge potential in volleyball.
The coach is hopeful for more support to help the team cross the Olympic qualification line.
If the men’s volleyball team make it, they become the third team to represent Zimbabwe at the prestigious tournament after the Mighty Warriors and the 1980 Hockey Golden Girls.
In fact, volleyball will only be the second team after Mighty Warriors to qualify, with the Golden Girls having made an appearance through invitation.
“We have a lot of potential in Zimbabwe despite having gone for so many years without a national team.
“Looking at this issue closely, we were supposed to be way behind the other teams in terms of performance.
“Unlike other nations whose national teams were active, it was a different case for us . . . after close to two decades we assembled our first national team last year,” Abu-Basutu said.
He now wants the country to build on their showing in the zonal qualifiers. His wish is to have all the international-based players in camp and available to represent Zimbabwe in the African qualifiers.
However, for his dream to come true, the association needs financial backing.
“We have plenty of great Zimbabwean players in different countries, and as we head to the next round of qualifiers, we need them in the team.
“Their presence will give us a huge edge over opponents because they have a lot of exposure and experience.
“Not taking away anything from those who did duty at the zonal level, but the wider the pool and the more experience we have, then the better our chances.”
For Zimbabwe to make it to the Olympics, they will need to win the only available ticket at the African Qualifiers.
“We want to trace our players who are playing for foreign teams, but without support it will be difficult.
“We are calling on corporates to come on board and assist us in time so that we get down to business as early as we can.”
