Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze, [email protected]
AFTER securing the solitary ticket to the 2028 Los Angeles African Olympic Qualifiers at the recently concluded CAVB Zone VI Senior LA28 Qualifiers, the Zimbabwe Volleyball Association (ZVA) has no time to rest.
ZVA have already begun preparations for the continental showdown scheduled for the Democratic Republic of Congo in October.
This comes after the association nearly failed to host the zonal competition due to a lack of funding, only to be rescued by the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee at the eleventh hour.
It is against this background that ZVA feel they do not have sufficient time between now and the African Qualifiers, hence the need to resume preparations promptly.
Currently, they have extended their begging bowl, calling on sponsors and partners, with the African Qualifiers at the top of their priority list.
“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 of the tournament after securing a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Zambia in the final.
Coach Abu-Basutu was crowned “Coach of the Tournament” in the men’s category, with Sergeant Arnold Simulezi named best coach in the women’s division.
In the women’s category, the African contest ticket was won by Zambia, while Zimbabwe settled for silver.
However, the hosts collected the bulk of the individual accolades, with Tracy Njanji scooping two awards 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 named Best Libero and Noreen Manhai crowned Best Middle Blocker.
Abu-Basutu noted that performances by the local teams in both categories indicate that there is significant potential in Zimbabwe.
Resultantly, with adequate support, Zimbabwe can make it to the Olympics in Los Angeles.
If the men’s volleyball team qualify, they will become only the third team to represent Zimbabwe at the prestigious tournament after the Mighty Warriors and the Hockey Golden Girls.
In fact, volleyball would be only the second team after the Mighty Warriors to qualify outright, with the Golden Girls having made an appearance by invitation (hand-picked).
“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,” said the coach.
Coach Abu-Basutu believes that the latest performances by the national teams provide a firm foundation on which to build as they aim to rise and become a force to reckon with.
His wish is to have all internationally based players in camp and available to represent Zimbabwe at the African qualifiers.
However, for this aspiration to be realised, the association requires significant 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,” he said.
For Zimbabwe to qualify for the Olympics, they will need to secure the single 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.”
