The national volleyball league 2020/2021 will not take place due to sanctions that the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) slapped on Rwanda, penalizing the country for fielding ineligible players during the 2021 African Women’s Volleyball Championship that took place in Kigali in September.

In a saga that gripped the local sports fraternity, Rwanda was eliminated from the competition, owing to the fact that it used four foreign players that did not have proper documents to allow them feature for the country.

The players in question, all originally from South America, are; right-attack Aline Siqueira, center Apolinario Caroline Taina, setter Mariana Da Silva and left-attack Moreira Bianca Gomes.

Times Sport has learned that FIVB imposed serious sanctions on Rwanda, among which the local volleyball federation (FRVB) was banned from hosting any competitions for two years.

In an exclusive interview on Thursday, December 9, Philbert Mucyo, FRVB’s Secretary General told this newspaper that the league will not be taking place due to the sanctions.

"The sanctions imposed on us by the FIVB are still in force. We also apologize for the inconvenience,” he said.

He, however noted that although the regular tournament won’t take place, there will be a four-week Forzza bet tournament this month, and clubs that are interested can register to take part.