Building a Better Nation Through Sport: Inside the Brahmaputra Volleyball League the World is Watching in Awe

The Brahmaputra Volleyball League in Assam has come as a breath of fresh hope for grassroots sport - transforming idle fields into engines of unity, gender equity, and opportunity, while showing how a people-powered model can outpace India’s sporting system. Backed by the international volleyball community, it has emerged as a viable blueprint for grassroots sport everywhere.

Written by : Sudipta Biswas

Updated Mar 23, 2026, 16:33 IST

This is second and final part of a two-part series on Brahmaputra Volleyball League (BVL). Read Part 1: From Punctured Balls to IOC Award: The Quiet Revolution of the Brahmaputra Volleyball League Turning Global Attention

The sense of belonging and eager participation within the community in the Brahmaputra Volleyball League (BVL) movement is unparalleled. At its core, it has become a powerful vehicle for community engagement and social change - an unprecedented model for making the world better through the sport.

"We no longer need to ask for help. People are coming forward themselves to support us - somebody donating rice, somebody donating flour, somebody donating bamboos. Everyone is coming on their own, but when we started nobody knew us. But now this is life for them. BVL gives them happiness," Abhijit Bhattacharya, the founder of BVL, told Sports Now.

BVL has emerged as a social boon. “BVL is binding them together. It is transforming village environments where there was little to no sporting culture - volleyball has given them hope. People have come together as a team now. They have a sense of ownership, a sense of family bonding with BVL,” he added.

Spirit of Olympic Movement

The league now has its own presence on social media, along with a broadcasting team trained by Amitabh Atreya, a seasoned documentary filmmaker and creative director.

After initially starting with tripods mounted on top of bamboo poles, the BVL partnered with SportVot, a start-up providing broadcasting technology. This collaboration enabled the league to launch a cost-effective live-streaming system using smartphones and minimal equipment. Today, the broadcasts include live scoring, video production, and central monitoring by a dedicated team of personnel. Every year, around 800 matches are broadcast, making it convenient for adopters - whether in Singapore, the United States, Serbia, or elsewhere in India - to keep track of the league.

According to International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) president Fabio Azevedo, the BVL's significance radiates beyond the periphery of sports. “The entire volleyball ecosystem is important, from grassroots to the highest level. We want to promote our sport more and more, and highlight its impact on society. We share a mission with the IOC Olympic Movement and the United Nations to make the world better through sport. That is what we are doing - making the world better through volleyball.”

Sports journalist Sharda Ugra echoed Fabio: “The BVL is an example of the strength of community and the strength of passion for sport. Even the age groups they have taken are perfect. But they are not telling you that they are going to make you superstars; they are simply and silently fostering a culture.”

Children and villagers have managed to break the shackles of caste, community, and religion, coming together to play - something that would have otherwise taken the government many years to achieve.

"I think it is amazing that it has happened without any drama. In a country where so much hatred and division are being generated all the time, to see this is just fantastic. It’s just beautiful. And these are children," she added.

World Bank’s Senior Anthropologist, Roxanne Hakim, was spot on. Experiencing the league firsthand, she said, "I have always believed in community development. And for that to happen, the use of sport to foster social change and community development is paramount. And to me, the BVL is a life changing exprience."

Overlooked and ignored at home

The IOC GEDI award is a testament to Abhijit's tenacity and resilience. In villages where cultural rigidity often holds girls back from sport, he broke barriers with the power of persuasion. His communication and conviction brought communities on board. More importantly, his idea of instilling pride - by putting village names on the back of players’ jerseys - struck a powerful chord.

Yet, for his recognitation abroad back home, his work remains largely overlooked. Neither the VFI nor the Indian Olympic Association has formally acknowledged his efforts as of now. In a country that spends considerable time and energy discussing grassroots sports development, Abhijit’s model stands out for sustaining itself without administrative, financial, or technical support from India’s Delhi-based sports establishment. Moreover, what could well become a blueprint for Olympic sports across India remains an opportunity yet to be realised.

Sharda described the situation as startling. “The BVL has now received support from international bodies at a time when Indian volleyball and the national federation are facing internal challenges. The sport is growing and flourishing while the federation is dealing with ongoing issues around elections and governance. And if you look at their website, it is a joke,” she said.

She also voiced a concern over the league’s growing popularity: “I am constantly in perpetual fear that some Netaji (political leader) will try to come and take it over,” she added.

Abhijit remained steadfast in his principles, a stance that ultimately cost him a coaching certificate, as the VFI did not align with his straightforward approach.

Tapping into untapped opportunity

Assam has never been counted among India’s traditional hotbeds of the sport. "If you look at Assam volleyball and compare that to the Indian volleyball scenario, we stand nowhere. Like, if you give us a ranking, then we will be somewhere above 12-15," said Abhijit. "In the context of world volleyball, India is still far behind - our world ranking is around 50."

Yet, a state once absent from the top tier of India’s volleyball map has now emerged as a force to be reckoned with, thanks to the BVL, consistently reaching the knockouts of national events. For a state that had produced only one international player, this marks a remarkable transformation.

"There are two ways to look at it," added Abhijit. "One is, when I said it is not popular, I meant in the sense that, quality-wise, we were unable to perform at the national stage."

Assam, however, has a history of volleyball as a recreational sport, with the sport being played during the harvesting season and paddy fields serving as courts. "Volleyball was the source of entertainment for them," said Abhijit.

"They used to put up two bamboo poles and one net, and every evening they used to play. But that was not professional, just for the sake of recreation. So, there is already a good level of presence of volleyball in Assam," he added.

The presence of open fields of villages does not necessarily translate into ample sporting opportunities. Someone needed to leverage that, and Abhijit did what national federations and state associations could not achieve for years - he tapped into that untapped opportunity.

“When we started visiting villages, there was no volleyball culture. In some villages, there was not even a sporting culture. Until then, children used to roam around in the evenings,” said Abhijit.

“When the village elders invited us, we went there with two balls and a net. As we entered, all the children gathered and started playing volleyball. Now, in the evenings, everyone comes together, and parents also come to watch them play,” he added, referring to the change brought about by the BVL.

The impact is evident in the results. For the first time in the state’s history, the Assam U-17 girls’ team reached the quarterfinals of the School Nationals in 2024-25 and the Junior Nationals in 2025-26.

Starting from scratch

For Abhijit, an ONGC employee who spent much of his life away from Assam, the desire to give back to the game was always at the back of his mind. But mere intent is not enough - intent without action often leads to complacency rather than results.

“In 2008-09, when I returned home, I saw children sitting idle on the sidelines of a ground because they couldn’t afford a ball. I asked them, ‘When are you going to play?’ That was when I realised the only ball they had was punctured,” Abhijit recalled.

That moment became the trigger. “We, the former players of the state, came together to support rural children. The basic idea was simple - collect 100 balls and distribute them. That was how the Assam Volleyball Mission 100 began. Today, our trust is registered under the same name,” he said.

Being bestowed with the IOC GEDI Award now holds deep significance for Abhijit. “To come from there and reach this level - and win an international honour - is a huge recognition. We never imagined the BVL would come this far in just six years. We simply wanted to help children play,” a gleeful Abhijit added.

While he remains the driving force behind the BVL, it has evolved into a collective effort, drawing support from people across all walks of life. Joy Bhattacharjya and Sharda Ugra are among nearly 400 team adopters. That also includes notable figures such as BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, former India badminton player Aparna Popat, GoSports Foundation director Nandan Kamath, and volleyball great Vladimir Grbic, who, along with his brother Nikola Grbic, has adopted the Barbari village team. All they need is to contribute as little as Rs 15,000 to adopt a team, buying them equipment and jerseys.

No half measures

For Abhijit, there were no half measures in giving back to volleyball. As a staunch advocate of gender neutrality, he remained dedicated to the cause.

Ensuring gender neutrality is no mean feat, yet Abhijit achieved it swiftly. The league went a step further, actively breaking taboos around the menstrual cycle among young girls, in partnership with the Simply Sport Foundation and its Simply Periods initiative.

“When we talk about kids, it has to include both boys and girls - we were very clear about that from the start. But we soon realised that girls going through puberty were not coming to the ground. So we asked ourselves: how do we bring them back? We began distributing sanitary pads to raise awareness,” Abhijit said.

“We then brought in the Simply Periods Foundation to conduct menstrual hygiene sessions for our coaches, equipping them to better support and train young girls during puberty. Every step was aimed at ensuring gender equality. Today, we are proud to see the boys-to-girls ratio in the Under-16 category - once 2:1 in the first season - nearly equal at 1:1, with a significant rise in girls’ participation,” he added.

This also caught the attention of UNICEF, which partnered with the BVL in 2025 to create awareness around child protection and climate resilience. BVL players have now become ambassadors, carrying this message from one village to another.

Grassroots dream

The sixth season of the league ended on January 25, with the finals being held at Barbari village. Played across two age groups - Under 12 and Under 16 - the league produced four different champions across two genders, showcasing the diversity and competitiveness of Assam volleyball. They became champions after crisscrossing the length and breadth of the state.

Aalok VCC from the Dibrugarh district secured the Under-12 Boys’ title. In the Under-12 Girls’ competition, Banmukh VCC from the Sibsagar district made a triumphant debut in the league. Dulimerh claimed the Under-16 Girls’ championship after coming runner up last year. In the Under-16 Boys’ category, Besseria reclaimed the title.

Aalok VCC's coach Satrajit transformed his cowshed into a classroom to ensure children could continue their education while playing volleyball. Banmukh VCC's coach Kakoti built a court outside his home and ran participation camps while managing a demanding job, runs a volleyball centre alongside his wife who is a teacher in the village school.

This raises a pertinent question: if a grassroots league like the BVL can thrive without needing substantial financial backing - relying instead on diligent planning, passion, and intent - what is stopping India’s national federations from running similar leagues?

Beyond the administrative challenges that continue to hold back Indian sports, the BVL model has emerged as a ray of hope for many, with people from eastern states such as Jharkhand and Odisha showing keen interest in replicating its success - on individual capacity.

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