Kathmandu, January 6

Nepal Volleyball Association is organising the RBB-NVA National Club Championship from January 17-24 here at the NSC covered hall.

At least 12 teams will take part in the men’s section, while eight clubs will be in fray in women’s category, informed the organisers at a press meet today. Rashtriya Banijya Bank is the main sponsor and they will provide the NVA with Rs 1.2 million to organise the tournament.

Out of the total prize money of Rs 870,000, the top three teams in both sections will receive Rs 200,000, Rs 100,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively.

Likewise, the players of the tournament will get Rs 25,000 each, while the best libero, server, blocker, lifter, spiker and coach will received Rs 10,000 a piece.

The tournament will also serve as the qualifiers for the Club League to be held in April-May. Top eight men’s teams and six women’s sides will qualify for the League, said NVA General Secretary Jitendra Bahadur Chand.

“We have received requests from a couple of district associations to host the tournament and we will decide on the hosts and venue in due course,” said Chand.

RBB Chairman Nirmal Hari Adhikari said the bank was ready to coordinate with NVA for various projects to uplift the standard of the game. “We are sponsoring this event under our Corporate Social Responsibility and we will continue to support it in the years to come.

As volleyball is national sport, we are ready to join hands with NVA for the overall development of volleyball,” said Adhikari. RBB Chief Executive Kiran Kumar Shrestha said the bank was a proud partner of the tournament.

“We know volleyball has reached to a new height and we are eager to support the sport,” said Shrestha.

NVA President Manoranjan Raman Sharma thanked the RBB for their generous support. “RBB supported us when we were in dire need of a sponsor and they also increased the amount,” said Sharma. “The RBB’s support has been crucial in the development of volleyball and we are committed to do a lot better in the years to come,” he added. “We want RBB to evaluate our performance and raise the sponsorship amount accordingly.”