Mascom league kicks off

MOSAH MOKGANEDI
Correspondent | Friday February 26, 2010 00:00

Mascom has come to the rescue this year and the level of interest and competition is expected to be high because of the money which is at stake. BDF VI coach Selebatso Mabutho expects the competition to be tough this time because of the huge sponsorship. 'We are motivated and we will do our best even though we have not been informed yet about the break down of prize money,' he said. He asserted that the era of dominance by one team is over because even minnows will be motivated to aim high. He hopes that the national teams will improve because they will have active players unlike the past when clubs were idle and history was used to select the squad.

Teletswana manager, Tebogo Mogami shared Mabutho's sentiments. He said it is exciting for volleyball to get such a big sponsorship. He said running a volleyball team is costly and that is why some teams have not been active in the recent past. He expects the big teams to dominate the league again as small ones are still in the building process. He expects competition to intensify in the next season. He said Teletswana will do everything to help the BVF to abide by the sponsorship contract so as to attract more financial backers.

'Of course we are excited (about the sponsorship), there is no doubt about that,' said Mafolofolo coach Kabo Ntshinogang. He is happy that volleyball activities started early in the year. However, Ntshinogang does not believe that the huge sponsorship will change the dominance of big teams. He said it will take small teams a long time to catch up with the giants. He is disappointed with the lacklustre attitude of some teams who do not seem hungry to grow. Women teams mostly disappoint Ntshinogang.

Publicity secretary at Diphatsa, Bapoga Nshakazhogwe is thankful to Mascom for the sponsorship. 'We are very proud of what they did to us after years of suffering,' he said. He said that though negotiations for the sponsorship took long, it was for a good reason.

Since 2006, BVF has had no league and has resorted to tournaments to keep players busy. There were claims that the tournaments are not enough to keep players active. Last year the federation resolved to have a non-sponsored league but this failed when some teams did not show enough commitment.