The competition starts today at Ditshupo Hall until December 15. The championships will be attended by 50 clubs from Botswana, Angola, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Speaking during the ceremony, the BVF president, Tsoseletso Magang, said the initial budget for the games was P2 million, and it was trimmed to P1 million. She said the biggest cost was towards renting the playing venue. Magang said they had to spend part of the BVF subversion because they did not receive enough sponsorship to cater for everything for the tournament. Magang said the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) should be assisting National Sport Associations (NSA) when they host events, especially when it comes to marketing. “I wish this tournament was held on a rotational basis amongst the 10 Southern African countries. In that way, it will give us time to prepare. But now the nature of hosting the tournament is through bidding, which the then leadership submitted a bid in 2021,” she said.
Magang said when they host events like CAVB Zone VI, there is no sports infrastructure in the country, and it will be worthwhile for the government to be more involved to be able to come forward and look into developing infrastructure that can be used after the games. “I am saying this because the sponsorship from ODC is going towards securing the venue for the games. The sponsorship could be going towards assisting us to deliver the games. We have had challenges and some of those is that we do not have facilities,” she said. The Local Organising Committee (LOC) vice chairperson, Thabo Tlale, said the initial rental cost for the venue was around P500, 000 and it was reduced to P337,000. Meanwhile, Dennis Tlaang, Specialist Public Relations and Communications at ODC said they are hopeful that their funding will go a long for a successful tournament. “At ODC, our involvement goes beyond financial support, we believe in the transformative power of sport and the value that it embodies. The sponsorship reflects our commitment to empowering athletes, fostering communities and contributing to the development of sport in the region,” Tlaang said.
Clubs: Men: Botswana: Spiking Stars, Kalavango, Yaros, BDF VI, Police VI, Mag Stimela and Prisons VI. Zimbabwe: Black Mambas, Black Rhinos, Support Unit, and UZ Wolves. Eswatini: Royal Eswatini Police. Zambia: UNZA, Green Buffaloes, Wolves Lusaka, Nkwazi, Prisons, and Solwezi Hackers. Lesotho: Redskins, LDF, and LMPS. Malawi: Blue Eagles. Namibia: Correctional Services and Defence Force Raptors.
Women: Botswana: Stars, BDF, Police, Mafolofolo and Kutlwano. Zimbabwe: Mambas, Rhinos, Unit, Wolves, Manyame Falcons, Harare City, and Chinhoyi Unitech. Eswatini: Leperang OAC and Scorpions. Zambia: Green Buffaloes and Prisons. South Africa: VUT. Malawi: Eagles. Mozambique: Academia and UP. Namibia: Defence Force Phoenixes and Revival Volleyball Club.
