Mashonaland Central will finally be able to enjoy volleyball in their backyard, and a new league set will be introduced in January.
For years, the province has been marginalised in volleyball despite several players emerging from various regional schools to feed into Harare teams.
True to their commitment to unearthing and nurturing local talent, coach Simbarashe Machokovah recently assembled the Bindura Volleyball Club.
The club is composed of players from Bindura University of Science and Technology and Ezekiel Guti University.
This was meant to create a platform to kick-start their project with the team set to be dissolved in January to allow each institution to establish their independent teams.
"As for now we felt that we had to put together a team that would take part in various tournaments across the country," said Machokovah.
"This was also meant to motivate our players so that when more teams are formed next year, we know we have some individuals who understand what we are trying to do so to us this is more of a trial project."
The "pilot project", according to the coach, was also meant to address the issue of identity among players from the province.
He said most players from Mashonaland Central lack confidence and suffer from identity crisis, hence the need for a competitive league that will help them champion some of these challenges.
"The biggest reason we are setting up this league is to scout talent in the province because we have discovered that there is a lot of it here," he said.
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"Some of the talent from this province play for big teams in Harare because we did not have teams or a league here so this will be something big for us.
"We need to nurture our talent on our own and give them a platform to showcase it and earn lucrative moves."
Ideally, the league will feature six teams, drafted from the two universities, schools, and across the community.
"We intend to also go into rural Mash Central to scout talent and also nurture them into top-tier players," he added.
"According to our vision, the league will be more than just about Volleyball, we want to create a platform that will rescue young girls and boys from societal ills and vices.
"Recently the province was declared as a hot spot for Human Immune Virus which automatically means it is potentially a Sexually Transmitted Infections hot spot too.
"Through sport, Volleyball precisely, I believe we can help keep the youngsters away from all these ills as well as drug and substance abuse." Machokovah urged local corporates and business people to support the cause by investing in the various clubs.
