· The five-day programme, which was supported by the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment Programme, ran from 28 March to 1 April in Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital
· The diverse group of 26 participants, comprising 21 men and five women, were drawn from across the VAM administration and club officials
· VAM President James Kaunda said the course had come at the right time as most officials were just settling into their new roles in the federation
“Volleyball in Malawi will never be the same again,” declared Volleyball Association of Malawi (VAM) President James Kaunda, following the successful conclusion of a five-day Knowledge Transfer Programme through FIVB Volleyball Empowerment. The programme saw 26 participants learning about best practices in sports management and administration from FIVB expert Mxolisi Ndlovu.
The five-day National Federation Sports Management and Administration course, which was supported by the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme, ran from 28 March to 1 April in Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital. Through Volleyball Empowerment, the FIVB also provides beach volleyball coach support worth CHF 90,000 to VAM with Eswatini coach Thulani Maphosa taking charge of their senior men and women national teams.
The diverse group of 26 participants, comprising 21 men and five women, were drawn from VAM executives, regional leadership, Coaches Commission representatives and club officials.
Some of the areas covered were financial management, management functions, structure for sports organisations, strategic plans and implementation, communication, marketing, human resource management, and event management among others.
Kaunda said the course had come at the right time as most officials were just settling into their new roles in the federation.
“Officials from the northern and southern regions are just one year into office while those from the central region are in their second year so it was important that they attend this course to learn more about sports administration.
“Most of them were just doing guess work and they are happy to learn and discover modern trends in governance and administration. The course has helped to change their perspective about various aspects of the game.
“We hope to build on this to improve our constitution and come up with policies that will improve how the federation is run. This course will bring big change in Malawian volleyball and it will never be the same again,” said Kaunda.
FIVB expert Ndlovu was impressed by the hunger to learn among the participants.
“They have gotten an overview of what modern sports management entails and it’s a group that was willing to learn. They have already identified gaps in how they run the game and suggested solutions that can help improve how the federation handles its activities which says a lot about their commitment and passion,” noted Ndlovu.