Last year November, volleyball returned to action after receiving P200, 000 sponsorship from Liquid Intelligent Technologies. The same company was expected to come on board again, and it was already included in the BVF calendar. The tournament was to run from November 4 with the finals set for November 26. The Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF) president, Tsoseletso Magang told MmegiSport that Liquid Intelligent Technologies informed them that they are not able to assist this year due to financial constraints. Despite the setback, Magang said they cannot sit back but they have to play on.
“We need volleyball activity and we cannot just sit back because we are not securing financial support. We are hoping that as potential sponsors see that we are active, they will be motivated to come on board,” she said. Magang said they are still engaging potential sponsors and will not stop until they secure funding for volleyball activities. Meanwhile, the BVF vice president-administration, Ndibo Lebala, said the upcoming Volleyball Golden Cup would occupy the same slot that was reserved for the Liquid Intelligent Technologies tournament. “We named the tournament Golden Cup so that when a sponsor comes onboard, it will be easy to pick up the name,” he said. Regarding the tournament sponsorship, Lebala said at the beginning of the year, Liquid Intelligent Technologies had agreed that they will be available to sponsor the tournament, and that they should be slotted in November. “But they wrote to us saying they will not manage. We could not stop action because players have gained momentum after playing the BVF Mascom tournament. They played knowing they will be having another tournament. After playing for five weeks, then we play another two weeks, that will make volleyball visible and be able to attract sponsors,” he said.
Lebala said they decided to use the BVF competitions funds as they did not exhaust money from the previous financial year. Reflecting on the BVF Mascom tournament, Lebala said there was no prize money because the funds that were spent on the tournament were not enough. “What we needed was for volleyball to be active. We decided that the Mascom money and funds that we had should be allocated to clubs for mobilisation. It was meant for them not to incur total costs in the tournament. If players do not play, clubs will seize to exist,” Lebala said.
Meanwhile, Kutlwano coach, Isaac Samuel, said playing a tournament without a sponsor is difficult. “We spend money in preparations but at the end, we get nothing. We have tried to engage our leadership but it seems like their agenda is to see us playing. They do not listen to the club’s concerns,” Samuel said. Spiking Stars coach, Dikgang Kgosane said they are treating the tournament as a training session as they are preparing for Zone VI championships slated for December in Maseru, Lesotho. “We are not playing to win this tournament, even if we are eliminated in the first weekend,” Kgosane said.
Teams
Men Pool A: BDF, UB Yaros, Police, Prisons and Itekeng Pool B: Kutlwano, Spiking Stars, Kalavango and Mafolofolo Pool C: Mag Stimela, Blockbusters, Motlakase and Sebokeng
Women Pool A: Police, Kutlwano, Dynamites and UB Yaros Pool B: Mafolofolo, Spiking Stars, Kalavango and BDF Pool C: Mag Stimela, Sebokeng, Motlakase and Phikwe
