Volleyball slowly finding its niche

 By Precious Msosa

After a 17-year absence from the international stage, Malawian volleyball made a long-awaited return in June when the men’s and women’s national teams competed in the Zone VI Los Angeles 2028 Olympic qualifiers in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Given the lengthy hiatus, many had expected the national teams to return stronger, hoping the break had provided an opportunity for rebuilding. However, that was not the case, as both the men’s and women’s teams struggled throughout the tournament.

Despite failing to register a victory, the Malawian delegation found consolation in individual accolades, with players standing out among competitors from Zambia, Namibia and hosts Zimbabwe.

National Coach for Volleyball Women’s Team, Banda: The sport is now present in all regions (Photo Credit: VAM)

Although the national teams, affectionately known as the Infernos, endured a difficult campaign, their individual performances suggest that volleyball in Malawi is making steady progress.

According to Volleyball Association of Malawi (VAM) vice-president Simbani Banda, who also coaches the women’s national team, the association is working to establish volleyball as the country’s third most popular sport after football and netball.

“We are making strides to ensure that volleyball is recognised as probably the third household sport after football and netball. The sport is now present in all regions, although competitions are mainly at senior level. In the long run, our hope is to expand competitive volleyball to the junior ranks as well,” he said.

Sponsorship challenges

Banda said inadequate sponsorship remains one of the biggest obstacles to the sport’s growth. Currently, VAM relies largely on Raiply Malawi, which sponsors the national volleyball tournament.

He admitted that this support is insufficient, especially after the association expanded the number of volleyball regions from three to six. In addition to the traditional Northern, Central and Southern regions, VAM has introduced the Karonga Volleyball League, Central Eastern Volleyball League and Eastern Volleyball League.

Time for pep talk (Photo Credit: VAM)

“At this point, none of the regional leagues has sponsorship. We mainly depend on the goodwill of participants, who contribute money alongside affiliation fees to organise competitions. That is how we have managed the sport over the years,” he said.

However, Banda expressed optimism that the situation could improve next year, revealing that discussions with several companies have yielded positive feedback.

“We are hopeful that by next year we will have a sponsor for the national volleyball league. The response from some companies has been encouraging, and what remains is to turn that interest into action,” he said.

He was quick to point out that while VAM has a responsibility to secure sponsorship for the sport, regional associations must also actively seek funding for their own leagues.

The Zimbabwe campaign

The return to international competition generated excitement among players and volleyball enthusiasts alike, but the enthusiasm did not translate into results on the court. The Infernos lost all four of their matches during the qualifiers.

Nevertheless, Malawi excelled in the individual awards, claiming five of the seven honours on offer.

Kenya-based Moses Mzumara, who plays for Trailblazers Volleyball Club, was named both the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Best Blocker I.

Dalitso Chingana received the Best Blocker II award, while Chifundo Majawa was named Best Opposite Hitter and Phinly Buddha won the Best Setter award.

Banda believes these accolades demonstrate that Malawi’s overall performance was better than the final standings suggest.

“For a team that finished fourth and still won five of the seven individual awards, you can see that our performance was not generally that bad. It is actually unprecedented. Let me thank those entrusted with recognising outstanding performers for sticking to the statistics,” he said.

“In all our matches, we lacked the killer instinct to finish games. We would often be leading and need only two more points to win, but unfortunately we failed to capitalise. That final touch comes with experience,” he added.

The 17-year international break

Banda acknowledged that many people expected the long absence from international competition to produce a stronger national team, but he said rebuilding requires much more than simply returning to the international stage.

“The reality is that there is still a lot that needs to be done. When you look at our volleyball landscape, we do not have as many competitions as our counterparts. They enjoy greater exposure because they send several teams to regional tournaments such as the Zone VI championships, while we usually send only one. As a result, when it is time to select the national team, we have a much smaller pool of players with international experience,” he said.

The Malawi team in action (Photo Credit: VAM)

He added that the rebuilding process extends beyond the national teams.

“The rebuilding is not just for the national teams but for the entire volleyball landscape in the country. By the end of our four-year term in office, we hope to have established national leagues and at least four national tournaments,” Banda said.

Looking ahead

Looking to the future, Banda said VAM intends to organise more international friendly matches to give national team players valuable experience and improve their ability to compete with confidence at regional and continental levels.

The Malawi team is making strides (Photo Credit: VAM)

He also revealed plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Malawi Schools Sports Association (MASSA) to strengthen grassroots development. Under the proposed partnership, VAM would donate volleyball equipment to schools to encourage greater participation among young players.

“The only way to grow the sport is by starting from the grassroots. By doing this, we believe we can build a strong foundation for volleyball in Malawi,” he said.

However, he said the association is very grateful to Phatafuli Sports Shop which sponsors the annual NextGen Under-18 volleyball tournament. He said the tournament carters for any Under-18 teams across the country and this year it is expected to be held in August in Lilongwe.

The future looks brighter (Photo Credit: VAM)

Additionally, he said through the intervention of the expert coach from Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB), Dr. Thulan Maposa, the northern region has now started the youth league, mainly consisting of the Under-15 players.

“We have also proposed that during this year’s Raiply tournament we should have the Under-17 teams so we will see how this will transpire. We believe this can become our bed lock of our foundation,” he said.