Volleyball for All turns 40 

The FNB DTS Volleyball for All tournament was once again a huge success with about 5 000 people descending onto DTS’ sport fields in Olympia on Saturday for the traditional event.

It was the 40th edition of the popular social spectacle, which has become one of the biggest mass-participation events on the Namibian sporting calendar. This year’s event saw 192 corporate and social teams battling it out in 32 groups of six teams each, with the top two in each group proceeding to the last 64 knockout stage. 

From here on the competition proceeded on a straight knockout basis, with Nampower and Namdia progressing to the final after beating Team Juxta and Leefa Legends in the semifinals respectively. 

The final was a thriller that had the fans on the edge of their seats – in fact, no one was sitting – they had all converged around the volleyball pitch, hardly leaving any space for the match to proceed.

But it continued through the mayhem and excitement as Nampower and Namdia served up a thriller for the fans to savour. 

Nampower immediately took the lead and seemed to be heading for a comfortable victory when they led by five points midway through the second half. Namdia, however, made a great comeback, drawing level at 33-33, before Nampower got the winning spike in the final seconds to win the match 34-33. 

It was a thrilling finale for a great tournament, according to tournament director Heiko Kesselmann. 

“It was a very exciting game and the crowd was cheering them on throughout the match. They were crowded all around the pitch and with the close finish it provided a great spectacle,” he said. 

“There were lots of people who enjoyed themselves in a festive atmosphere for families, friends and colleagues. In the past we had problems with muddy courts, or hot and difficult conditions, but this time everything went smoothly and there were no issues at all,” he added.

It was the first year that FNB Namibia had come on board as the main sponsor, although former long time sponsor Namibia Breweries, has remained as a smaller co-sponsor. 

“It was the first time that FNB came on board as the main sponsor, after Namibia Breweries were the main sponsor for about 25 years and we are grateful for their support over the years. We also thank Future Media News – they had four radio stations playing a diverse range of music, so everyone’s tastes were catered for,” Kesselmann said, adding that the funds raised will go towards maintaining their facilities. 

“It’s our biggest money-spinner of the year and it will help us maintain and renovate our facilities, because we are trying to provide first class facilities for our members. I think our soccer pitch is the best pitch in Namibia, then we have tennis courts, beach volleyball courts and our multi-purpose hall for indoor hockey, hockey, volleyball and futsal. We are aiming to make it family friendly with a nice social atmosphere so we are also renovating our bar area,” he said.