Malkia face Cameroon in 'group of death' opener

Malkia Strikers will have no time to slowly settle in as the CAVB Women’s African Nations Cup that gets underway on Sunday 12 September but will rather have to engage top gear as they face defending champions Cameroon in their opener set for 5 pm (EAT). 

The Paul Bitok-coached side landed a tough group that has the defending champions, Tunisia, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Pool B with Pool A consisting of tournament hosts Rwanda, Senegal, Morocco and Nigeria. 

Drawing of lots for the women's Championship took place on Saturday, 11 September in presence of CAVB president Bouchra Hajij and the control committee headed by CAVB vice president Waithka Kioni. 

Malkia Strikers, the record title holders are looking to bag their tenth title and dethrone Cameroon who won the championship in 2019. The opener is a repeat of the 2017 and 2019 finals of the same competition.

Coach Bitok has a squad of 14 doing duty with three making their debut for the senior national team. 

"Without a doubt we are in a tough pool and it will not be an easy ride. We go into the championship having made changes to the team but are yet to test the squad. It would have been advantageous had we played at least a friendly match, like Cameroon did against Rwanda as they arrived earlier. However, we will try and adjust and settle early in the match," said Bitok. 

While acknowledging that the first match will be tough, Bitok says it will help the team gauge their preparedness while testing the young players.

"We will have the new player's (those who did not play in the Olympic team) in the starting so we can quickly adapt and adjust. We will, however, be careful not to put too much pressure on the youngsters as that can affect their game. What is important for now is to qualify for semi final," Bitok further explained. 

The team is likely to miss two key players in skipper Mercy Moim and Sharon Chepchumba who are nursing slight injuries. 

"Moim has a strain on her left leg while Chepchumba has a slight injury on her shoulder but we are hoping they will be cleared to play. Without Jane Wacu and Noel Murambi, you can see the youngsters get to set in now as we rejig the starting line-up. 

Having new players who have not played together before in a competitive match is a hurdle we have to deal with but I trust it's 4my duty to get a new formula for our starting line up during this match," he added. 

Fixtures (Rwanda Time)

12:00 B Burundi V RDC

14:00 A Nigeria V Senegal

16:00 B Cameroon v Kenya

18:00 A Rwanda v Morocco

Pool A

Rwanda- Senegal- Morocco- Nigeria

Pool B

Cameroon- Kenya- Burundi- Tunisia- RDC