Local Volleyball needs a new lease of life

A couple of years ago the volleyball federation was probably the most organized of all local sports federations in the country and as a result of the game was growing fast right from down up to top.But things have changed in recent years where the game has not only remained stagnant but there is fear that it could go down the drain if nothing is done to arrest the rapid declaim sooner rather than later.Rwanda Volleyball Federation has mishandled the sport lately and signs are that the people in charge don’t seem to have any focus and ambitions to promote the game in schools.In the years ago (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 up to 2008) the game was competitive and players were on high level but in the last four or five years, volleyball in the country has lost stability and direction.During those hey days, the national teams were the most dominant in the region and doing quite well on the continent as well, but they have not been overtaken by Kenya.The main reason for the rapid decline is that the sport’s governing body has ceased to organise enough local competitions in order to keep the players competitive and increase the number fans.In those days there were a number of clubs competing in the league and but have since gone out of business. They included’ Amasata Volleyball Club, Blue Tigers and Kigali Institute of Technology (KIST).Blue Tigers and Amasata were producing many young players for the bigger clubs as well as the national teams, and in the women category Les Colombes and Kigali Women Volleyball Club who were among of the best teams in league.Because of the disorganisation and lack of proper leadership at the top, fans are no longer interested except the real hardcore ones and former players too are no longer attending league matches compared to the past years when they were actively involved.In a nutshell, volleyball took one step forward between 1997 and 2008 and three backwards since then, which is not helping it in regard to becoming a mainstream sport in the country. As times passes, the game appears to be fast fading way. Sunday Sport talked to the federation chairman Charles Uyisenga on why the sport has ceased to move forward in the last couple of years, and what needs to be done to save from becoming extinct.Uyisenga says that even though the sport has somehow declined, the general standards have gone up considerable. “Today we have many young players playing so I hope that if we continue to work with them, the future looks bright. I confident we will achieve more in the coming years,” Uyisenga said.He added, “We’ve put much emphasis on scouting young talents from the grassroots and things appear to be progressing pretty well, but it will take time to get back to the top.”Uyisenga acknowledged that the sport has been up and down, pointing out that since the time Kigali Volleyball Club (KVC), which used to be the dominant force lost its top spot, and attendances have gone down drastically since the club had the biggest following. “KVC’s decline appears to have affected the sport because it was the best team in the country with so many fans. Yes we have lost many teams but there’s other new one that have come up,” Uyisenga explained.Money issueOne of the country’s leading players, Vincent Dusabimana ‘Gasongo’ says fiscal problem is the number one factor that has led to sport’s decline.Gasongo is one of three players, plus Christopher Mukunzi, Lawrence Yakan Guma, who have seen their stars rise higher despite the decline. The trio recently secured professional contracts with Qatari first division clubs.The national team star also mentioned the lack of follow-up on the young players as another key factor that has led to the demise. He said the players need to be followed form the time they pick interest in the game all the way to when they become top players. “The federation and clubs need scout for youth players and make follow-up on their progress in order to help turn into future internationals,” Dusabimana said.He noted, “There is also a need to continue taking the sport to the people in a bid to make it popular again. Familiar faces like former players and coaches need to be re-energized so that they can have the moral to help the young players.” It is now a year since that national team played any international matches but federation boss Uyisenga says, it is the African volleyball confederation to blame for not organising competitions.