Kathmandu, January 21 Nepal Volleyball Association signed the biggest sponsorship agreement with Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry for the FNCCI Cup National Volleyball Tournament. NVA President Manoranjan Raman Sharma and FNCCI Vice-president Umesh Lal Shrestha exchanged the Memorandum of Understanding for three editions of tournament to be organised in district, province and national levels. As per the agreement, FNCCI will provide the NVA with Rs 12 million per year to organise the men’s and women’s tournaments. The sponsorship amount is the highest for the NVA. Previously the NVA had signed an agreement worth four million rupees with Nepal Satellite Telecom Pvt Ltd for the NVA National Club Volleyball Championship on January 5. Shrestha said the FNCCI wanted to help in the development of volleyball from grassroots and signed the three-year agreement in the first phase only to comply with the tenure of the current executive committee. “We will definitely extend the agreement in coming years as we have made a vision of developing the sport,” said Shrestha. Meanwhile, FNCCI President Bhawani Rana said the organisation wanted to reach to the local people through sports and “volleyball, being the national sport, was the perfect platform.” Rana added: “We had other options in football and cricket but we chose volleyball as the sport can be played in every part of the country. We want to encourage local people as we want to fulfill our social responsibilities besides focusing on economic growth of the country. And, we also want to provide opportunity to the local talents.” Meanwhile, NVA General Secretary Jitendra Bahadur Chand informed that district level tournaments will be held from February 8-21. The winners of the district level tournaments will compete in the provincial events slated for February 22 to March 24. And, the winners of the seven provinces will take part in the national level tournament to be organised in Kathmandu from April 3-11. The top three finishers in both men and women categories will get Rs 200,000, Rs 100,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively. Chand also informed that departmental teams will not be allowed to compete in the event. Secretary at the Ministry of Youth and Sports Mahesh Prasad Dahal said the project was initiated with aim of promoting volleyball from grassroots and that the event would help in finding new talents. “The government is making its plans for infrastructure development and such events will provide much-needed exposure to the talented players in remote places of the country,” he added. Similarly, Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevan Ram Shrestha said the agreement would encourage private sector to come forward and contribute to the development of sports. “Involvement of private sectors is essential for the development of sports and the sponsorship agreement by the umbrella organisation is the biggest step towards prosperity. The agreement will be supportive in the development of volleyball and it will also spread positive message to the business community,” said Shrestha.