Central region volleyball officials call for sponsorship

The corporate society is being challenged to take interest in sponsorship for other sports disciplines as volleyball, if sports development is to be achieved in the country, Central region volleyball officials have said.

The call has been made on the side-lines of a donation from Tikhale Property Consultants of 3 Referee stands worth K450, 000 to be used at the Bingu National Stadium courts in Lilongwe.

Lack of adequate referring stands is also another challenge that is thers in most of the sports facilities that are used by Central Region Volleyball League (CRVL).

Here you go -The hand-over of the refereeing stands

Chairperson of the CRVL Robert Nazitwele described the donation as a timely gesture that will improve the game.

“Our three accessible volleyball courts lacked such facilities to enable the referees to call on matches with precision. We hope that our partnership remains strong because it is vital in as far as the development of the sport is concerned” Nazitwele explained.

Tikhale Property Consultants Principle consultant Trust Mtegha told Capital FM that they made the donation as a contribution towards the development of the Volleyball sport in the Central Region.

He said: “The donation has been made to enhance Volleyball sport in the region. We saw the need for the stands around the 3 courts at the Bingu National Stadium and we are sure it will be utilised”.

While appreciating the support by Tikhale, CRVL referees committee Chairperson IsaacPhiridisclosed that financial constraints and inadequate funding is affecting other developments such as the recruitment of match officials.

This according to Phiri compromising match officiation, hence the need for further support.

“We hope that coming in of some stakeholders with sponsorship deals will help to fund the sport especially in recruiting referees that oversee games. As it stands, there is a shortfall in numbers, compared to the matches we officiate,” Phiri lamented.

He further pointed that the shortage of Refs has led to increased complaints over poor officiation resulting from fatigue, as the available referees often officiate multiple matches in a day.

The CRVL officials have since made a passionate plea to the corporate sector for more sponsorship to develop the sport not only at regional, but national level as well.