Zimbabwean appointed Malawi volleyball head coach

Munyaradzi Munzabwa, Sports Correspondent
FORMER Highlanders and University of Zimbabwe volleyball player Thulani Maphosa has been appointed Malawi national volleyball team head coach.

Maphosa relocated to Malawi in 2019 after spending 14 years in Eswatini and his passion for the game saw him rising to become a Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) coaches’ trainer two years ago.

This latest appointment is fully funded by FIVB. Volleyball Association of Malawi president Jimmy Kanda congratulated Maphosa on his appointment, saying it was timely and strategic for the development of volleyball in the country.

“We believe your skills and technical expertise will be of paramount use in revamping grassroot volleyball as well as the formation of strong male and female national teams able to compete at regional and global level. At national level, you will be expected to provide monthly progress reports to the office of the general secretary to document progress, challenges and proposed way forward. The office of the general secretary will also play a co-ordination role for communication and technical matters,” Kanda said.

“We hope and believe that this will mark the beginning of a fruitful partnership that will elevate volleyball in Malawi to competitive standards.”

In his 15 years in Eswatini, the Bulawayo-born Maphosa scooped several international and local gold, silver and bronze medals with various clubs and the national team.

An elated Maphosa paid tribute to his passion for volleyball.

“The passion brings it all out and this appointment coming from FIVB is quite humbling. It’s FIVB that nominated me for this (appointment) and the project will be fully funded by FIVB, including the salary. It’s quite humbling in that they could have sent a Brazilian or someone, but grace saw it land on me,” said Maphosa.

Maphosa is also a serving member of the Confederation of Africa Volleyball (CAVB) Coaches Commission, and the first-ever official from the southern Africa to hold such a post in the game.