Despite finishing in distant seventh and ninth positions in the female and male respectively in the recently held Africa Volleyball Club Championship in Tunisia, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, on Friday, organised a heroic welcome for it’s representatives.
The female Chief of Naval Staff, (CNS) Spikers produced the championship most valuable player, MVP
While the female team finished seventh out of 40 teams, the male was ninth from 42 teams that participated in the continental championship.
Represented by Read Admiral Sulaiman Garba, the Chief of Naval Staff said sports and sporting activities are the Nigeria Navy’s priority, and aspires to take Volleyball (male and female) teams to top three positions in the continent.
“We are going to the grassroots to search for talents. We need the fresh blood to inject into the teams and to replace the ageing players.
“The ageing players would not be laid off; instead, we are going to encourage them to do coaching courses so as to handle our teams. Currently, we have an FIVB Level 1 certified coach, and we still need more and would encourage our older players to go for such coaching programmes,” said Real Admiral Sulaiman Garba.
Aside Volleyball, the Navy also have Swimming, Polo and Football, which is currently participating in the national division III, among the sports it is promoting. “We have institutionalised sports in the Nigeria Navy, and we are going to provide adequate amenities to ensure top flight performance in those sports,” said Garba.
Commander James Bindar, who led the Volleyball teams to the Tunisia Africa championship, said adequate facilities are in place to groom the players to stardom.
He said the teams’ performance in the national league earned it the ticket to represent the country at the continental championship.
