After struggling to attract sponsors but so far without success, BVF resorted to a self-funded league last year and diverted development funds to it in the hope of attracting the attention of potential sponsors. Staff Writer TLOTLO KEBINAKGABO reports
Lack of sponsorship has hindered growth and quality of the country’s volleyball league, the president of Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF), Tsoseletso Magang, has said.
“One of the things we wanted to do was increase the number of teams, expanding volleyball’s footprint across the country,” she said in a telephone interview .
“That has been affected. Right now, only well-established teams are competing. We have teams in places like Tsabong and Selebi-Phikwe that could not participate because of financial constraints.”
Limited player movement
After struggling to attract sponsors, BVF resorted to a self-funded league last year. To sustain operations, the federation allocated development funds to the league.
However, Magang admitted that without strong financial backing, overall quality has suffered. “Some player movement has, of course, happened,” she said.
“However, with proper funding, we would see even greater improvement. Strong players are changing teams. Tracy Chaba moved from long-time club Kutlwano to Spiking Stars, which has improved the team’s performance.”
Transport costs
Magang cited transport costs as a major financial hurdle, especially since the federation lacks dedicated volleyball centres.
“As a federation, we don’t have our own facilities or access to centres in major towns,” she said. “So we’re constantly moving equipment across the country.
“We also have to cover referee fees. Since we play in a tournament-style format with multiple games in a day, we need a large pool of referees, sometimes requiring transportation and accommodation for them as well.”
Cost-cutting measures
These financial burdens, she added, make it difficult to sustain a league without external funding.
“It’s a big challenge,” she noted. “But when we took over the leadership of volleyball, we committed to reviving the sport. We believe that by keeping the league active, potential sponsors will take notice.”
The federation has implemented cost-cutting measures to sustain the league on a limited budget. However, this has come at the expense of other critical activities.
Visibility
“For example, we are running the federation without a strategic plan, which is a major setback,” Magang admitted.
Despite the difficulties, the federation remains hopeful that consistent activity will eventually attract sponsorships.
“We are doing whatever it takes to keep volleyball alive,” said Magang. “With visibility, we hope to convince sponsors to come on board.”