Bure wins Bujumbura Volleyball League MVP

TANZANIAN professional volleyball player Omari Bure continues to shine in Bujumbura, after winning the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Association de Volleyball Bujumbura (AVAB) League.

Bure’s outstanding performance with his Rukinzo side saw him bag in his second MVP Award in the Burundian volleyball league. In an exclusive interview with the ‘Daily News’ from Burundi yesterday, Bure, the outside hitter (receiver attack) player, said he was relieved to achieve such career success.

This is his fourth career award. Bure, a member of the national team, said this is his second MVP Award in Burundi since joining one of the country’s giants in 2023. He won the award in his first year. He joined Rukinzo from the Kampala International University Tanzania (KIUT) team in Dar es Salaam.

Bure said he joined Rukinzo after the end of his KIUT contract, as he was looking for a new challenge abroad.

“Before I went to Burundi, I also won the MVP twice in two different leagues in the country in 2022. I first got the MVP in the Kigoma Regional Volleyball League (KIREVA) while playing for Tanganyika Volleyball Club (TVC). The same year, I shifted to Dar es Salaam and achieved the same at the Dar es Salaam Regional Volleyball Association (DAREVA) League, which is one of the country’s biggest leagues.” Before signing with the Kampala University team, Bure was playing for the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) team.

He said what motivated him to join the Burundi league is that it is one of the top leagues in the region.

“Burundi has many leagues and competitions where players meet regularly and get excited. Their volleyball development program is very encouraging, even though they don’t have many professionals who play abroad like Tanzania,” he said.

“However, in Tanzania, we are stronger than Burundi when it comes to the national team level, maybe because some of us got a chance to experience leagues abroad.

As a player, I like to have a lot of competition to improve, so Burundi gives me that important platform that motivates me the most.” Bure noted that every career has its challenges, and it is the same for him. Language barriers and lack of sufficient funds for sports equipment to support himself and his family are some of them.