President of Republic of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, became the latest admirer of Alexander Pontel’s work, taking to his official Facebook page to congratulate the national team pairs for their impressive gold-medal-winning performances in the Durban leg of the African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB) Zone VI Beach Volleyball Tour.

The seventh leg of the tour – contested by 17 men’s and 14 women’s teams – was held in Durban, South Africa in January, and saw Mozambique’s women’s duo of Ana Paula Sinaportar and Vanessa Muianga take gold while men’s pair Ainadino Martinho and Jorge Monjane settled for bronze.

Following the latest leg, Mozambique’s Martinho and Jorge Monjane sit top of the men’s category with 1,368 points while compatriots Ana Paula Sinaportar and Vanessa Muianga lead the women’s category with 1,440 points.

At the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships 2022, Mozambique’s national teams caught the attention of the global volleyball community as their vast potential under Brazilian coach Alexander Pontel, as part of the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme, was witnessed.

Pontel was seconded to Mozambique in January 2022 to offer technical support as part of the FIVB’s revolutionary Volleyball Empowerment programme which seeks to help national teams realise their full potential. One year later, and the impact of the programme can be seen in the performance of Mozambique in the CAVB Zone VI Beach Volleyball Tour.