ZIMBABWE senior men volleyball national team coach for the 2023 CAVB Zone VI nations championships, Itsanang Abu-Basuthu, has admitted that the team will face stiff competition and has a huge task in the forthcoming tournament.
The championships have been scheduled for September 22 to October 1 at City Sports Centre, the University of Zimbabwe Great Hall in Harare and Aquatic Complex in Chitungwiza.
Zimbabwe will field both men and women’s sides in a tournament field of more than 20 teams.
Some of the countries that have already expressed their interest to participate at this nations fiesta are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique and Namibia.
The men’s side started their trials over the weekend, while the women’s team commenced theirs on Monday and ended yesterday.
Abu-Basuthu noted that there was need to make thorough preparations in order to assemble strong teams that will be able to withstand the level of the competition.
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“We need proper preparations going forward because this tournament comprises very competitive nations and as the first national teams tournament and also being hosted by Zimbabwe, we are forced to perform and produce a positive result,” he said.
“So far, we have had all the 25 local players reporting for trials except for two who had other pressing commitments.
“What was really good during our trials was the positive attitude shown by the players throughout the process. We just hope that the same spirit will continue up to the final day of our competition.”