Nepal Volleyball Association is all set to organise the seventh NVA Women’s and Men’s National Volleyball Club League tournament from July 8 to July 15 at the National Sports Council covered hall in Tripureshwar, Kathmandu.

The tournament, scheduled as per the NVA’s annual calendar, is being organised as part of its policy to develop, promote and guide the game towards professionalism, said NVA president Jeetendra Bahadur Chand at a press conference on Monday.

The men’s event will feature eight teams and the women's competition will see participation of six teams—all qualified from the club championship tournament held in January. The men’s event will feature Nepal Police Club, Tribhuvan Army Club, Nepal Armed Police Force Club (APFC), Dawali Milan Club, Keshablal Memorial Foundation, Gandaki Province, Sailung Bagdhungha Sports Club and Tip Top Help Nepal.

The women’s category will have NPC, APF, TAC, New Diamond Youth Sports Club, Everest Volleyball Club and Gandaki Province. A team will be eligible to field three overseas players in the game.

The winner in the men’s section will qualify for the CAVA Men’s Club Volleyball Championship, which the NVA has proposed to organise in Nepal in December, according to Chand. “We are also lobbying to have the tournament’s runner up in the capacity of the host country,” Chand added.

The expected cost of the tournament is Rs7.5 million, out of which the National Sports Council (NSC) will provide Rs4 million. The top four finishers in both men’s and women’s section will bag Rs600,000, Rs300,000, Rs150,000 and Rs 75,000, respectively. The best players in men’s and women’s section will get Rs35,000 each while best server, setter, blocker, spiker, libero and coach will earn Rs15,000 each.

Chand also informed that both the men’s and women’s team will have foreign coaches for upcoming Asian Games. Belgium citizen Jan De Brandt is already appointed women’s coach and the men's team will also get a foreign coach.

Brushing off criticism against the national men’s team, who lost all six matches of the CAVA Men’s Volleyball Nations League in Bishkek, Chand said that the team was in a learning process. “It is not fair to relate all competition with outcome. The experience and the lesson the team learnt is valuable,” he said. “It was an opportunity for us to know our level in terms of the Asian standards.”