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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
THE Bulawayo Volleyball Association (BVA) says the 2018 league programme will start on March 10.

BVA is set to hold its annual general meeting next Saturday where preparations for the 2018 season will be laid out.

The league will start with a pre-season tournament on March 3 where every team in the league will take part.

BVA chairperson William Mazviro was optimistic they can spark renewed interest in volleyball in the city this season.

“We are set to have our AGM next week and the meeting will give us a clear picture of where we are headed as an association. That will also be after the Zimbabwe Volleyball Association (ZVA) AGM that starts today in Gwanda. We are certainly looking forward to improving the standards of the game in the city. This season we expect to see more competitive action that will make our league more exciting. We are excited by the possibility of having new teams in our league such as Lupane State University, National University of Science and Technology and Bulawayo Polytechnic. “The more teams we have in the league, the more we move towards our goal to further spread the sport in the city and we hope to achieve all this during the course of this season,” said Mazviro.

He appealed to the corporate world to partner them to help the growth and development of volleyball in the city.

“Our major challenge is financial. Teams survive from hand to mouth, which is not ideal. The corporate world plays a major role in the development of sport the world over and most successful clubs are backed by corporates and that is what we desire for our clubs in Bulawayo.

“There was an improvement in the game in 2017, as we managed to host the regional club championships. We have an exciting new crop of players that has displayed loads of talent, but our clubs struggle to participate in the national league due to financial constraints,” Mazviro said.

The BVA league will use White City Stadium courts, Milton High School and Khanyisile Sports Centre as venues for league action this season.

@innocentskizoe