Maldives builds first of many outdoor volleyball courts after FIVB President kickstarts development journey

The Maldives recently reached a key milestone in its volleyball development journey after it opened 12 brand-new outdoor volleyball courts with an additional 38 infrastructure projects also planned across Maldives’ islands.

The construction of the courts follows FIVB President Dr Ary S. Graça F°’s visit to the Maldives where the country’s huge potential in the sport was discussed and a two-year Volleyball Empowerment project was approved. While this project is focused on beach volleyball, the President’s visit also kickstarted the Maldives’ volleyball development journey.

In particular, it helped to bolster the Maldives’ vision to increase volleyball participation and build a strong national team. This led to the Volleyball Association of Maldives, together with the Ministry of Youth Sports and Community Empowerment, launching a project to develop adequate facilities to cater to the needs of the local volleyball community. Precisely 50 volleyball infrastructure projects have been put forward across 50 of Maldives’ islands.

The FIVB President said:

“I am delighted that the Maldives Government were inspired by the good strategic plan we helped the Volleyball Association of Maldives put in place. The country’s investment in good volleyball infrastructure will have a huge impact on the Maldives’ volleyball development journey, bringing positive benefits to local communities and laying the foundations for sustainable success.

“It is clear that all parties in the Maldives understand the potential and opportunity for the Maldives to grow the sport, build on increasing participation levels and, ultimately, develop a strong national team.”

President of the Maldives Volleyball Association, Mohamed Raneysh, said:

“With this project, the National Federation intends to develop adequate infrastructure across 50 islands to provide opportunities for school volleyball players and youth in the Maldives. This will increase the opportunity to identify talented players, increase the number of volleyball events, increase the opportunities to conduct volleyball competitions at island level and facilitate ways to develop and increase the well-being of the local people.

“We will soon start coaching programmes and Coach the Coach programmes on the developing islands. We are also committed to increasing the popularity of the sport to build a strong national team and boost our primary vision of making Maldives a beach volleyball destination.”