Embargoed 29th February 2016
The appointment of Edvaldo has to be seen as one of the cornerstones of our plan, that of building the foundations for the future of the game. – Jesmond Saliba President
The Malta Volleyball Association has appointed Edvaldo Carvalho da Silva as its Technical Director. Carvalho da Silva has been entrusted with the MVA’s principal project, that of popularising the game of volleyball amongst the younger generations, and building the foundations for the future of the game. The Technical Director will also be the head coach of the national indoor and beach volley selections, and act as technical advisor to the Association and affiliated clubs.
Brazilian national Carvalho da Silva’s career in volleyball spans more than 25 years, and includes stints as technical director, coach and talent scout at volleyball clubs in Brazil between 1987 and 2005, where he also led teams in winning national and regional titles, both at youth and senior levels. During the past nine years, Carvalho da Silva had the role of technical director and subsequently head coach at Club Voleibol Caravaca in Spain.
A highlight of Carvalho da Silva’s term at this club were his pioneering endeavours to raise the profile of volleyball in Caravaca de la Cruz, where he worked with educational institutions to draw children to the sport, and subsequently to establish nursery teams in all the youth and junior categories, both for males and females. As a result of Carvalho da Silva’s work, the club has now started drawing on home-grown players for its senior teams, with a number of these also making the grade in regional and national selections. His achievements in Spain include winning the LIGA FEV and the A2 Superliga, and
participating in the top A1 Superliga for two successive seasons. Under Carvalho da Silva’s direction, Caravaca were also runners-up in the Spanish national Juniors Superliga for three successive seasons.
Commenting on Carvalho da Silva’s appointment, MVA President Jesmond Saliba explained that “The appointment of Edvaldo has to be seen as one of the cornerstones of our plan and mandate to build the foundations for the future of the game. Edvaldo will play a pivotal role in ensuring that volleyball will find its rightful place as a sport of choice for the younger generations. Today’s appointment coincides with the pan-European #One Day More For Volleyball, organised by the CEV, intended to promote the sport around the continent to create further engagement in the game. This appointment is in itself another step towards achieving those objectives, which we deem as being a priority for the sport. These include divulging the benefits of volleyball as a sport which can improve the health and lifestyle of Maltese children; to make volleyball a preferred choice for Maltese boys and girls who want to take up a competitive sport; and finally, to improve the technical level of volleyball – both indoor and beach – in Malta”.
Saliba added that “since this administration took over at the helm of MVA last June, we have managed to raise the profile of volleyball in Malta, we have brought back the Men’s League, and generated renewed enthusiasm for the game. The engagement of a Technical Director is yet another step towards our objective of seeing the growth of both indoor and beach volleyball in Malta, as well as positive results on the international scene”.
For more information about the Malta Volleyball Association and local volleyball competitions visit www.maltavolleyball.org.
Technical Director – Mr. Edvaldo Carvalho da Silva