Malawian clubs struggle at Zone VI tourney
Blue Eagles men and women volleyball teams lost all their games at Confederation of African Volleyball Zone VI Senior Championship in Durban, South Africa.
Blue Eagles Men lost all games in all sets 25-0, 25-0, 25-0 to Zimbabwe’s Harare City; 25-12, 25-21, 25-16 to Botswana’s Kutlwano; 25-12, 25-20, 25-20 to Manpower of Namibia and 25-18, 25-21, 25-20 to Lesotho’s Redskins.
In the women’s category, Blue Eagles lost to Namibia’s Revival 25-18, 25-21, 25-21 and Harare City 25-20, 25-17, 25-23.
The results exposed poor standards of the sport on the local scene.
Malawian ambassadors have failed to qualify for the quarter-finals, but coach James Mangani attributed the teams’ performance to inadequate preparations.
“There is a lot that needs to be done, especially our preparations as teams do not adequately train,” he said.
“Our domestic leagues need to be revamped to match that of our colleagues.”
But the coach applauded his charges for putting up a brave fight against seasoned opponents.
“Although we lost all games in all sets, the teams’ performance was not that bad. In other games we gave away the lead.”
Blue Eagles Women’s side qualified after winning the Raiply National Volleyball Championship while the men’s team participated because champions Thunders pulled out due to financial problems.
The Zone VI games are qualifiers for Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) Senior Clubs Championship.
The tournament drew 20 men’s teams and 14 women teams from Botswana, e-Swatini, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and hosts South Africa.
