Rwanda Volleyball Federation (FRVB) has got a boost of Rwf48 million from three of their partners for the smooth running of different competitions, according to the federation president Gustave Nkurinziza.

Nkurunziza said the money will be used to organize different competitions including the regular national league (men and women), league playoffs, and Beach Circuit as well as Carre d’As tournaments.

"We have got the sponsors, but we need more because the money we have is not enough. We need more sponsorship for our competitions, it is hard to get them but we are trying our best with the marketing department,” said Nkurunziza.

Among the sponsors is Special Guarantee Funds that has pumped Rwf30m in volleyball for three years as well as Energy Utility Cooperation Limited (EUCL), Rwf15m for three years and SORAS, Rwf3m for one year.

Meanwhile, Rwanda Governance Board pumps Rwf9.5 million in Genocide Memorial tournament each year, while the Ministry of Sports and Culture will continue to support the national teams whereas Rwanda National Olympic Committee supports the volleyball development activities.

The men’s league is scheduled to kick off today while the women category will start on January 21, 2017. The upcoming season will see four new entrants. The new teams which will compete in men’s top division include; Gisagara VC, University of Technology and Business Studies (UTB) and Rwanda Energy Group (REG) while the new team in women league is Tumba Technology.

The league will be played on a robin round but home and away, where the three teams will be meeting at one venue and playing each other, with each team hosting one round

A team that wins 3-0 or3-1 will be awarded three points while the loser will go home with nothing while the winner of 3-2 will go home with two points while the loser will be awarded one point.

After the first round and second round the top four teams will play the playoffs which will be played in best of three, where the winner will be the league champion. The format will be applicable in both men and women category.

University of Kibungo (UNIK) and Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) are defending champions in men and women’s category respectively.

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