After six years away, league action is back!
A spike of excitement is surging through local volleyball.
After six frustrating years in the wilderness, the national league is back, with action commencing at the Molapo Crossing Hall this Saturday.
Having lain dormant since October 2018 due to lack of sponsorship, the league’s revival was made possible thanks to a P928, 000 grant from the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sports and Culture.
Although there will be no prize money on offer, just returning to sustained competitive play is a reward in itself for Botswana’s long-suffering teams, whose time on court has been limited to one-off cup competitions over the last six years.
Initially scheduled to start on 6 July, only to be postponed late on to give the teams sufficient time to prepare, Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF) President, Tsoseletso Magang assured Voice Sport they were ready and raring to go.
“There is no prize money because administration fees are high, but we have availed grants for teams, which we will be giving per games for teams to cover fuel and other expenses. With games on, this will allow teams to look for sponsors and we are looking for television to cover our games which can assist us in the hunt for sponsors for next season because this is a once off grant. We have reduced travelling time and costs by making sure when teams go to the north, they can play many games that side,” mentioned Magang.
The last time the league was played, financed by Mascom Wireless to the tune of P1 million, Mag-Stimela were crowned female champions of the land while Police VI shot to victory in the men’s division.
The volleyball landscape has changed drastically since then.
In total, 14 men’s teams will feature in the league while 12 ladies’ sides have signed up.
This includes Police VI ladies, who meet Dikwena on the opening day.
A rising power in the women’s game, the cops are heavy favourites to finish top.
However, Coach Shimaka Ngwanaotsile is under no illusions at the scale of the task ahead.
“We have been trying to prepare even though it was not easy. We expect tough competition from other teams. Our target is to play one game at a time. We don’t want to win or lose the match before playing. We don’t want to put ourselves under pressure, we are used to this. Botswana is hosting Zone VI, so most of the teams are going to use these games as part of preparations for zonal games, that’s why it is going to be difficult,” reasoned Ngwanaotsile.
In the men’s camp, Kalavango coach, Kabelo Marumo, whose charges open their campaign with a tough outing against BDF VI, admitted just getting a squad together has proved tricky.
“It was always going to be hard to bring back players especially those experienced and almost at the end of their playing time because most of them have moved on to new hobbies and commitments. Without school sports, which acted as a feeder for mainstream volleyball, it is really hard for us because our preparation isn’t good,” moaned Marumo, adding unavailability of resources made it difficult to recruit players when there was no activity.
The Kalavango king noted there have been so many false dawns in the past, some players still expect something to go wrong at the last minute.
“Too many postponements haven’t helped the situation; most of the players are still not coming because they are skeptical on whether the league will start this weekend,” he conceded.
Singing a similar tale of struggle, Kutlwano Chairman, Shadrack Modiakgotla, revealed preparations have been far from ideal.
Because of this, Modiakgotla said they will be setting their goals relatively low, despite the ladies’ team coming second at the Zone VI Interclub Championships in Lesotho back in December.
“The best we can do is to remain in the top three, it has been challenging so we don’t expect miracles. The team has not been having the best in preparation since there was also uncertainty in the start of the league. Keeping players together for training hasn’t been possible because of financial challenges – there was no motivation to push the players or coaches for training. We just have to understand that this is the situation we are in and adapt, so achieving anything beyond third place will be a bonus. The club also does not have any sponsors currently and this has hampered its preparation and operations,” said the recently appointed Chairman, who called for sponsors and supporters to ‘come in and rescue the team’.
