Volleyball Empowerment transforms the lives of Colombian’s players

Thanks to the FIVB's Volleyball Empowerment project, women's volleyball in Colombia has seen remarkable growth, resulting in significant achievements by the national team and transforming the lives of its players.

The FIVB has been supporting the Colombia women’s national volleyball team with coach support since 2020, in addition to a Gerflor floor in 2019 and 100 Mikasa volleyballs in 2018. Since 2017, a total of 214,000 CHF has been invested in Colombian women’s volleyball via Volleyball Empowerment which aims to empower national teams with the skills and tools to reach their full potential.

Today, all members of the national team are professional athletes playing in club leagues around the world and relying solely on volleyball for their livelihood.

Volleyball entered María Alejandra Marín’s life when she was just 11 years old. The national team's setter was introduced to the sport by a cousin and began training seriously at a young age with the goal of becoming a better player every day. At 13, she was called up to the minors' national team and has been representing Colombia ever since.

María Margarita Martínez's journey was similar. A physical education teacher and volleyball referee asked her to try a workout, and she quickly became enamored with the sport. By age 14, she had already joined the national team, with the goal of growing in the sport and supporting her family.

María Alejandra playing for Volley Club Marcq-en-Barœul in France

The two players have much in common. They both play for Volley Club Marcq-en-Barœul in France, where they pursued their professional careers after several Colombian players, such as Madelaynne Montaño, Kenny Moreno, and Lorena Zuleta, opened doors for them.

“We achieved professionalization by playing in France, as there is still no professional league in Colombia. Besides being a professional volleyball player, I'm graduating in Business Administration. One big dream is missing: to sing the Colombian anthem at the Olympic Games on the court,” says María Alejandra.

Now 27, María Alejandra highlights the three moments that most impacted her career.

“The first gold medal at the Odesur Games; the silver medal at the Pan American Games in Lima in 2019, when I played with a fractured finger; and the victory against Brazil in the South American Championship that qualified Colombia for the World Championship.

María Margarita, an outside hitter who had the North American Logan Tom and the Brazilian Paula Pequeno as her great inspirations in volleyball, points out that the interest of professional leagues in Colombian players has increased in recent years.

“The evolution of the national team’s group was very important for this to happen. Our level has improved a lot, and today we are present in different leagues. It is a joy and an honour to be able to play volleyball professionally.”

The coach of the national team, Antônio Rizola, is proud of the players.

“I am a coach who is first and foremost an educator. I am very happy to see that today all the players are studying at a university, speaking more than one language, and playing volleyball professionally in the world's top professional leagues,” he noted.

The objective of Colombian Volleyball Federation President Nestor Raul Eseche is to create a national league in the country so that players also have the opportunity to play professionally at home.