Tava expresses satisfaction with Nyerere volleyball tourney

This year’s Nyerere international volleyball tournament turned out to be a success despite lacking sponsorship and having less number of participants, Tanzania Amateur Volleyball Association (Tava) has disclosed.

Eight teams participated in the tournament held from last Thursday to Saturday at the National Indoor Stadium in Dar es Salaam, with Kenya’s Prisons and Dar es Salaam’s Magereza emerging winners in men and women categories respectively.

Several prominent domestic outfits missed out on the event for what was termed as failure to meet participation costs.

Tava’s technical committee chairman Somo Kimwaga said much as the body failed to access financial support for the tournament, there were hardly any hitches as far as the event’s organisation was concerned.

“The organisation was good. There wasn’t anything missing in terms of standard…the awards for winners were, particularly, better than the ones presented in the previous editions,” Kimwaga said.

“We (Tava) already have our procedures for ensuring our tournaments are organised smoothly, lack of sponsorship for the events notwithstanding,” he added.

He also dismissed claims that volleyball outfits from Zanzibar failed to turn up for the Nyerere international tournament as they were competing in the Isle’s volleyball club championship that was taking place at the same time.

“Zanzibar Amateur Volleyball Association (Zava) was aware of the Nyerere international tournament schedule…the Isle’s outfits simply failed to take part in the Dar es Salaam tournament because of financial constraints,” Kimwaga said.

Kenya’s Prisons emerged the event’s men’s category’s new champions after trouncing Dar es Salaam’s Magereza 3-1 in the final. 


Magereza women then spared their male counterparts’ blushes by winning the women category after edging rivals Jeshi Stars 3-2 in a pulsating final.

It turned out to be a dream come true for Kenya Prisons, who also boasted of unbeaten spell in the event. The squad’s skipper, Jimmy Ngala, had earlier said it had every reason to win the trophy, given that it was more organised.

Magereza women’s victory over Jeshi Stars saw the former maintain their dominance over the latter. The wardens overcame the same opponents in this year’s Dar es Salaam Regional Volleyball Club Championship’s final.

A second-place finish for Magereza men marked a significant improvement for the team, as it had settled for the same position in the Dar es Salaam tournament after losing to Jeshi Stars in the final.

Other teams that participated in the Nyerere international volleyball tournament were Gawasco and Kibaha volleyball club in the men’s category, while the women category also had an outfit from Tanga.