Volleyball league suffers another delay
NTHAKO MAJORO
MASERU – Due to the weekend’s bad weather, the start of the country’s top volleyball league was delayed yet again ahead of the impending Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) Zone VI Club Championships, which Lesotho will host for the first time in history in December. The men’s and women’s top-flight volleyball championships were scheduled to begin on Saturday, but the event was postponed due to rain.
This came after the league was unable to begin on time due to a huge exodus of LVA executives, including president, Lehlohonolo Ncheke, at the start of the year.
As a result of the officials remaining on duty failing to form a quorum, the league in which the clubs to represent the country at the upcoming CAVB Zone VI Championships could not begin on time. “The rain forced us to postpone our games after we had prepared everything for the league to start,” said Makhala Lehloenya, Vice President Technical of the Lesotho Volleyball Association (LVA), told Public Eye on Tuesday.
“However, the league will eventually begin, even though we have yet to decide on new dates.” Lehloenya stated that the turmoil inside LVA was “water under the bridge,” and that they were ready to begin the league. She said that Ncheke had subsequently resumed his position as LVA president, among other things. At the annual general meeting, Ncheke resigned, and he was joined by Vice President Administration Masoli Khoanyane, Vice President Finance ’Mathato Machela, Vice Secretary Nteboheleng Ramotekhoane, and a member, Kananelo Hanyane.
They all stated that they were stepping down for personal reasons. “We could not reach a quorum after they resigned, so we couldn’t do anything, including start the league,” Lehloenya explained, adding that the insecurity had also hurt the clubs because they could not operate. The LVA league typically has four tournaments per year. Normally, at this time of year, the league would be playing its second tournament, according to Lehloenya.
“However, given the time constraints, I don’t see us playing more than three league tournaments this year. “We would like to play two league tournaments in which the teams play each other, and then take the top four teams to the upcoming CABA Club Championships.” The departure of the five LVA officials almost cost Lesotho the right to host the 2017 CAVB Zone VI Club Championships as well as the continental volleyball mother body’s annual general meeting, which will also take place during the games. That was impending, since CAVB Zone VI wrote to LVA, expressing concern about Lesotho’s ability to host the two events under the current circumstances. CAVB Zone VI stated that they discovered the LVA’s instability through social media sites.