Volleyball league starts five months after schedule
A spike of excitement is surging through local volleyball as the national league makes its long overdue comeback this weekend.
Initially set to start in October, the league was put on hold due to the previous Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF) regime’s protest at their ousting, with special elections called in November at Confederation of African Volleyball’s (CAVB) request.
Now, thanks to funding from the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC), believed to be in the ballpark of around P1 million, action finally gets underway at the Royal Aria Indoor Sports Arena on Saturday.
Thebephatshwa, Jwaneng, Serowe and Gaborone are all scheduled to host games through the course of the season, which will run to the start of June and features 14 teams in the men’s draw and 12 on the ladies side, including newbies Prison VI.
“With the available funds, a decision was made to have it as a one round league,” explained BVF Media Relations and Marketing Officer, Mpho Tlhaselo, adding there will then be a two-month turnaround, with a new league commencing in August and ending in May as per international standards.
Breaking down how the cash will be split, Tlhaselo said, “Teams haven’t been active and they don’t have money; what has happened is that there are mobilisation fees which amounts to P21, 000 per club such that teams can be able to start the league without any challenges. The other funds have been divided to be used as prize money to promote the spirit of competition because teams cannot be playing for nothing.”
Desperate to come up with a product that is enticing to potential corporate sponsors, the volleyball mouthpiece noted competitive, high-quality matches will go a long way to achieving this.
“We want to achieve growth and move away from depending on government grants; the idea is we should use this league as much as possible to market the sport such that it become easy to attract potential sponsors to fund our league. We are also going to allow teams to advertise and brand their sponsors and partners when they are playing. The idea is for teams to be seen and be recognised that they have the potential to market their sponsors and partners. So the mandate is to help clubs to benefit and be able to attract sponsors, the idea is to be big at branding and have improved visibility,” concluded Tlhaselo.
In the 2024/25 BVF League, Police VI men proved unstoppable, romping to the title, while on the women’s side BDF VI were a cut above the rest, taking the Championship at a canter.
