Nepal sports<\/a> fraternity.<\/p>\nWhy Only Volleyball?<\/h3>\n At the time when volleyball was proposed for the national sport status, other sports like cricket and football were also in the race with much hype among the Nepali youth.<\/p>\n
However, volleyball has drawn special attention because of its easily-playable nature across terrains. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery sport has its own specialty and importance, but to be the national sport it has to be hugely popular and should have a strong organization. Volleyball has completed the minimum requirement to become a national sport. It can be played anywhere in the country, on any terrains, at a low cost. So, it fully deserved to be the national sport,\u201d says NVA’s General Secretary Jitendra Bahadur Chand.<\/p>\n
National Men’s Volleyball team skipper Em Rana had also lauded the government\u2019s decision saying, \u201cVolleyball is very much popular in the country and played in every part including the Himalayan region, the hills and the Tarai. So, this decision makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
National Women’s Volleyball team skipper Manju Gurung said, \u201cMajority of the population grows up playing volleyball. It doesn’t need a big space for playing so we can play it everywhere. Not only players but the whole nation is happy about the government’s decision of making volleyball as the national sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Way Forward<\/h4>\n NVA has been on high alert since the time of announcement and has come a long way in the journey. A month after the official declaration in June 2017, NVA announced its annual calendar with a list of 27 volleyball events stating youth development and strengthening of the existing team as key focus areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cSchool and college events are the platforms where we can identify potential players,\u201d NVA said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Adding to the financial strength of the sport, NVA had also added Mayor Cup as part of its calendar to draw budget from the local administration.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had organized volleyball festival in 2016 including some 10 schools of the valley. That was a huge success and we have decided to organize such event in all the five development regions to create a volleyball-friendly environment across the country,\u201d NVA General Secretary Jitendra Bahadur Chand<\/span> said in a statement.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nTo take the spirit ahead, NVA also has announced plans to unite associations in around 75 districts of the country for an event to commemorate the National Volleyball Day.<\/p>\n
Today, NVA stands as the face of Nepal from representing it at the National Sports Council nationally and at the Asian Volleyball Confederation and the F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Internationale de Volleyball, globally.<\/p>\n
Major Strides So Far<\/h4>\n As part of its journey, NVA has signed some key important agreements and MoUs with national and international organizations for the overall development of national volleyball. Here are some of the key steps the association has taken for the development and promotion of volleyball as national sport of Nepal:<\/p>\n
NVA National Club Volleyball Championship: <\/strong>Kickstarting 2018 on a positive note, <\/strong>NVA signed an agreement with Nepal Satellite Telecom (NST) Pvt. Ltd. for the NVA National Club Volleyball Championship. Under the deal, NST has promised Rs 2 million for two editions of the championship over the two years.<\/p>\nNVA Award: <\/strong>On January 20, 2018, NVA announced NVA Award, the first award announced after the announcement of volleyball as a national sport. The award, co-sponsored by City Travels and Tours Pvt. Ltd. is a three-year agreement under which NVA will receive a grant of Rs 1.5 million in three years. The association stands for the recognition of emerging and best players, coaches and teams in both men and women categories. \u201cWe are also honoring 40 organizations who have contributed in the development of volleyball,\u201d says NVA General Secretary Jitendra Bahadur Chand.<\/p>\nFNCCI Cup National Volleyball Tournament: <\/strong>One such notable one was the pact signed with the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) on January 21, 2018 for the FNCCI Cup National Volleyball Tournament, which is often termed as the biggest sponsorship agreement in the history of Nepali Volleyball.<\/p>\nThe agreement proposed plans to conduct three editions of the tournament across the country at the district, provincial and national levels.<\/p>\n
As part of the agreement, FNCCI promised NVA of giving the highest-ever sponsorship grant of Rs 12 million per year to organize the men\u2019s and women\u2019s volleyball tournaments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will definitely extend the agreement in coming years as we have made a vision of developing the sport,\u201d says FNCCI Vice-president Umesh Lal Shrestha<\/span>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n
FNCCI President Bhawani Rana is also hopeful of reaching out to Nepali citizens through volleyball. \u201cWe 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 the economic growth of the country. And, we also want to provide an opportunity to the local talents,\u201d Rana said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Secretary at the Ministry of Youth and Sports Mahesh Prasad Dahal is also hopeful that the special programs like this would promote volleyball from the grassroot levels and find new talents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d says Prasad Dahal<\/span>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nMeanwhile, Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevan Ram Shrestha says, \u201cInvolvement of private sectors is essential for the development of sports and the sponsorship agreement by the umbrella organization is the biggest step towards prosperity. The agreement will be supportive in the development of volleyball and it will also spread a positive messages to the business community.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are many other key strides that have been taken over the period for the overall development of volleyball as Nepal\u2019s national sport.<\/p>\n
Taking the Sport Further<\/h4>\n NVA has been very rigid about needed infrastructure development to develop the sport nationally. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not make false promise of constructing international-standard covered hall within a year or two. It\u2019s the duty of government to provide us with the land so that we can start the construction works. We have submitted the proposal to the National Sports Council, Ministry of Youth and Sports and Ministry of Finance and we are waiting for their response,\u201d says Chand.<\/p>\n
For a strong national volleyball team, NVA had announced its plans to bring in a foreign coach from the Netherlands and has also approached the World Volleyball Federation in this regard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in talks with World Volleyball Federation and the Netherlands Volleyball Association and we are hopeful of bringing in the Dutch coach,\u201d NVA<\/span> said in a statement.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nKey Events<\/h4>\n <\/p>\n
Some of the key national and international tournaments that gave due recognition to Nepali volleyball<\/strong> both in men\u2019s and women\u2019s categories include Men\u2019s National Volleyball League, Women\u2019s National Basketball League, Men\u2019s Asian Central Zone Volleyball, 4th<\/sup> International Women\u2019s Volleyball Championship, South Asian Women\u2019s Volleyball Championship, among various others.<\/p>\nApart from those for recognition and awards, Nepali volleyball was also played in many cases for social causes. One such was the match played by Ropla girls for the fight against child marriages, among others.<\/p>\n
\nAlso Read:<\/strong><\/p>\n\nHistory of Cricket in Nepal<\/a><\/li>\nHistory of Volleyball, Nepal’s National Sport<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"May 23, 2017 was one of the greatest days for global sports and for Nepal, in…<\/span><\/p>\nRead more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":761,"featured_media":6315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1326,6590],"tags":[6119,5253,3736,2994,6123,1444,6121,6124,419,177,2415,2564,6125,6126,6122,6118,6120],"yoast_head":"\n
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