VAM lauds Premier Lotto for renovating court at BYC

By Yamikani Yapuwa – Mana

Volleyball Association of Malawi (VAM) has hailed Premier Lotto Malawi for renovating a volleyball court at Blantyre Youth Centre (BYC) in the city.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Thursday, VAM General Secretary, Jailosi Nkhoma observed that the rehabilitation of the court will motivate players more as well as spectators.

“The renovation of the BYC Volleyball Court is a welcome development. I would like to give credit to Premier Group for the project.

“The renovations will have new features like a wire fence and terraces. The court will be extended to have a large free playing space.

“In the past, the ball could go beyond the playing area and there were a lot of obstacles from the balls from other playing fields.

“But with the addition of the fence, that will now be a thing of the past,” said Nkhoma.

He said the country has inadequate indoor and outdoor courts, hence the need for companies and individuals to emulate Premier Lotto’s gesture and help to improve the sports infrastructure.

“We need more companies and other individuals to help improve our volleyball infrastructure and build one major indoor facility which can be used by volleyball, netball, basketball, handball and other sporting disciplines.

“We also plead with companies to start sponsoring volleyball clubs so that they can have opportunities of playing more friendly games both locally and internationally,” he added.

The VAM General Secretary said such engagements would help teams and clubs to overcome pressure during the games and discover a winning formula at high level competitions.

Premier Bet Commercial Manager, Fady Younes said the volleyball court at BYC was in bad state such that one could barely play on it.

Younes said the decision to renovate the facility was a perfect opportunity for the company to give back to the people and get them to play volleyball again.

“Premier Lotto has been working in Malawi for some time and we truly value the communities we work in. We also have a saying that healthy communities are happy communities.

“Therefore, we wanted to start Premier Projects and find a development that would give the community the chance to stay fit and active,” said Younes.

According to the official, the renovations include breaking the existing structures to level the ground and laying solid concrete to deal with the holes and bumps on the court.

“This is a complete renovation of the volleyball court. We have broken up the existing structure so we can level the ground and lay solid concrete, meaning no more holes and bumps that make it impossible to play.

“We’re going to re-paint the court and build a solid fence around it for those who need more practice might otherwise lose a ball or two. The court is having a total makeover,” he added.

Younes said the renovation of the volleyball court is just the start, saying they will do more through the Premier Projects which have been set as the community sector of Premier Lotto.

“We have set up Premier Projects as the community sector of Premier Lotto. The volleyball court is just the beginning.

“Our focus is certainly on sports and giving as many people as possible in the community access to important infrastructure.

“Everyone has the right to play the sport they love in an environment that is safe,” said Younes.

Meanwhile, Younes has revealed they will be hosting a tournament for local schools as part of the official reopening ceremony once the volleyball court at the BYC is complete in the next few weeks.

Mana/yy/and/thz