Zambia Volleyball Association (ZAVA) says all is set for tomorrow’s ZAVA – Army Commander’s Cup slated for Lusaka.
The Zambia Army-sponsored tournament will be held at University of Zambia (UNZA) Sports Hall, Olympic Youth Development Center (OYDC) and NASDEC Sports Complex in Lusaka, from 16th December to 19th December, 2021.
Speaking in an interview with the Lusaka Star, ZAVA General Secretary, Gift Chesekela said that about 20 local teams and two teams from Malawi have all confirmed their participation.
We have 20 local teams participating in this tournament and two teams from Malawi will be arriving in the country by 13 hours tomorrow,
he said.
Chesekela said this tournament is a way of preparing the Zambian teams for the 2022 Senior Volleyball Championship that will be hosted in Mozambique.
We thought engaging teams outside Zambia will help our teams get a feel of the upcoming January Senior Championship Cup, which most of our teams will be going for,
the General Secretary said.
He also said the association has guided the participating teams on how to effectively practice COVID-19 guidelines during the tournament.
We already drew up our ‘Return to the Games COVID Guidelines’ in line with those set by Government,
he said.
Meanwhile, the University of Zambia Volleyball Club (UNZA VC) Coach, Beven Mugamu said both the men’s and women’s teams are ready for the tournament as they will have some players from around the country joining the team.
We have players coming from Choma and Monze, and I can say all our players are ready,
he said.
Mugamu however added that training for the ZAVA – Army Commander’s Cup has not been easy as the team moved to Munali due to unavailability of the UNZA Sports Hall.
We have not had a ready training venue, as our usual venue is currently being used as an examination center for the ongoing university examinations,
he said.
And UNZA VC Captain, Chikomeni Nyironga has declared his club ready for the tournament.
Every member of the club has been putting in their best throughout the training,
Nyironga said
The ZAVA – Army Commanders Cup Tournament champions are expected to walk away with a K25, 000 cash prize, a trophy and medals.