LAURENT Ngarambe, president of University of Kibungo (UNIK) volleyball club, says financial constraints have rendered the club incapable of participating in the 2018/2019 season. The two-time champions, UNIK VC, announced their withdrawal from the national volleyball league on Thursday. The Ngoma District-based side drops out of the championship nine years after joining where they went on to win two league titles among several other trophies. They also represented the country at the 2017 Men’s African Club Championship in Tunisia. According to Ngarambe, the varsity side is taking one season off to mobilise resources and look for sponsors for the club. “We have no means to run the club this season, that’s why we have decided to withdraw before the league starts. We thought it was wiser than to start and fail in the middle. Hopefully we will be back for the following season, and come back stronger,” Ngarambe said. He further noted that, “The university, as an institution, is not doing well financially at the moment, the reason why the volleyball team is not among the priorities. We are going to focus on looking for private sponsors and ensuring that we bounce back like we never left.” During their nine-year spell in the league, since 2009, UNIK has produced some of the country’s most renowned players such as Patrick Kavalo Akumuntu, Vincent ‘Gasongo’ Dusabimana, William Mudahemuka and Olivier Ntagengwa to mention a few. Former known as INATEK, the club claimed the league title back-to-back in 2015 and 2016. Only in the 2015 season, UNIK swept titles of every tournament they engaged in, including a domestic treble of the league, Genocide Memorial Tournament and Carre d’As titles. They also lifted the regional KAVC Memorial Tournament in Kampala, Uganda. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
