Why Malkia Strikers are doing better than their male counterparts

Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) President Charles Nyaberi has addressed the disparity in performance between the men's and women's national teams.

The men's team is ranked 69th in the global International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and fifth in Africa while the Malkia Strikers top the African continent in the ranking.

According to the President, the men's team is as dedicated as the ladies, but they face unique competition from the North and Western countries where volleyball is a popular sport with a long-standing tradition.

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The aforementioned nations have invested heavily in developing their men's volleyball programs, leading to stiff competition.

"It is just that the men's team faces really uphill and tough competition from the North and West African countries. It is a real cutthroat competition. And the countries in the North by virtue of culture, put more emphasis on men's competitions. Their men are all over the world, and Europe has taken them as professional players," he started.

"In contrast, in our women's teams, as much as it is the best in Africa, the competition is not all that stiff because we are way above everybody else except maybe for Cameroon and Egypt, and once in a while Algeria and Morocco, we are way ahead of all the other teams," he continued.

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To bridge this gap, the forward-thinking President noted that they were committed to providing the men's team with the necessary support, resources, and training to help them thrive on the international stage.

"We are also following them on their tracks. Right now, we have eight men whom we have licensed to go out and play for professional clubs in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. When these ones come back, they will definitely enforce our team," he disclosed.

Nyaberi also emphasized the significance of vigorous training to prepare players to face their formidable opponents.

The national team squads will begin training on November 14 ahead of the upcoming East Africa Community games set for Kigali, Rwanda from December 12-22.

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He further pointed out that after the East African games, the team would continue training together to gel well ahead of the next tasks.

"But above all, what we are going to do is get competition that is preceded by proper, lengthy, and detailed preparations. We are going to have the team train for longer hours and in an indoor environment because that is another thing."

"We are doing everything, we are starting early to make sure that this team that we have named will stay together even after the East African Community games so that they can gel, and by the time other games come, our team will be where we want it to be. We have also named an experienced technical bench. We want to make sure that this time they will go back to where they used to be," he said.

The president envisions a future where the men would go back to winning ways, like in 2011 when they were ranked third in Africa.