Lilongwe-based Central Region Volleyball League teams Wolves and Blue Eagles are finalising preparations for the 2024 Zone VI Senior Volleyball Club Championships set for Gaborone, Botswana, from December 5.
Wolves will go to the regional showpiece with their ladies’ side while their men’s side will compete in next year’s edition.
The team’s coach Simbani Banda said they would start off for Gaborone on Tuesday in high spirits after lifting the women’s league title.
“Morale is high ahead of our departure. Of course, we finished fourth at the Raiply Trophy in Mzuzu recently but we have worked on our mistakes and things are looking good. We believe the team is good enough to excel in the group stages and qualify for the quarterfinals.
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“Of course, it would have been good to go to Botswana with our men’s teams as well but we are giving it time to fine-tune for the 2025 edition of the competition. We believe both our men’s and ladies’ teams will give the nation something to smile about in the next two to three years. We are running a project which will start bearing fruit soon,” Banda said.
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Wolves’ maiden appearance at the regional tournament was during the 2021 edition in Maputo, Mozambique.
The team also competed at the 2022 championships in Lusaka, Zambia, but failed to travel to Maseru, Lesotho, in 2023 after failing to raise funds for the trip.
Eagles Publicity Secretary Samuel Gama said they had arranged for their men’s and ladies’ teams to start off for Gaborone on Sunday.
“We are all set to represent Malawi in Botswana with our two teams. We had a budget of K29 million, which was well supported by various stakeholders and we thank them for their kindness. We have now sorted out everything to do with our trip and we are just waiting for the day,” Gama said.
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He said they would build on the experience gained from their participation in three previous Zone VI tournaments to deliver.
“We finished second in the Raiply Trophy in both the men’s and ladies’ categories and we are motivated for the Zone VI tournament. We believe that players will deliver,” Gama said.
