Malkia Strikers begin hunt for 10th CAVB African Nations Championship title

It has been eight years since Kenya lifted the CAVB African Nations Championship, but Malkia Strikers are ready to bring that drought to an end. 

The team gets their 2023 campaign for the title won by Cameroon in the last three editions today when they take on fellow East Africans Rwanda, from 12 noon (2pm EAT) in Yaounde. 

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As coach Luizomar de Moura goes to battle for a record tenth title for Kenya, there's more at stake. The team is looking to kill two birds with one stone; win the elusive title and qualify for Paris Olympics 2024. 

"We played against Rwanda on Tuesday as part of our final preparations. It was important for us to adapt ourselves to the level of competition we would be facing.

The challenge of knowing our opponents in the groups so close to the competition notwithstanding, we have prepared the team to the best of our ability and are ready for all the teams. The mission remains winning the title," coach Moura offered in an interview after the team's final friendly match on Tuesday against the same Rwandese side. 

Malkia Strikers are in Pool 'B' that also has Morocco, Uganda, debutants Burkina Faso and Lesotho. 

"We expect intense matches in the group stage, playing daily until we get to the knock-out stage. The players are mentally prepared for that action. The team has shown massive improvement since the programme started for this games and we are ready to go," the tactician added. 

Meanwhile Rwandese tactician, Brazilian Paulo de Tarso Milagres says that his team is just getting started and they will be looking to go as far as they can considering they are not favourites. 

"After five weeks of preparations I am impressed with the team performance, especially against a strong Kenyan side in the friendly. That match gave us an opportunity to see where we are and that is the kind of performance we want to see in the competition. 

The combination between my setter and middle blockers is something we are looking to exploit more in the matches. Our target is the semi final then from there we can see what happens," coach Milagres offered.