Over 5 countries to compete in Zone V Paris Olympics qualifiers

More than five countries have been marked present for the CAVB Zone V Beach Volleyball qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympics slated for December 19-24 in Mombasa.

Kenya will host the event after the CAVB Zone V executive committee awarded the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) the hosting rights. Kenya successfully won the second bid ahead of Egypt.

In an exclusive with Mozzart Sport, KVF President Charles Nyaberi pointed out that they were exploring every avenue to make the event a resounding success. The tournament which will act as qualifiers for next year's African Games is expected to light up the buzzing Mombasa City.

The eloquent president went on to explain that most of the players who did well during the Eldoret City Volleyball tournament are part of the national team. Eldoret City Volleyball was played at the Eldoret National Polytechnic from December 2-3.

"Most of the players who were shining in this championship (Eldoret City Volleyball) are national team members. The national team will go into camp first thing next year to prepare for the East African Community Games that will be held in Kigali, Rwanda," he started.

"The greatest event that is coming up, Kenya is hosting the Zone 5 Beach Volleyball qualifications for the Olympic and African games," President Nyaberi continued.

He also noted that the team to represent Kenya is already in residential training ahead of the challenge.

In the last edition of the qualifiers held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 2020, the Kenya and Rwanda women's teams qualified to the next stage.

Eventually, the Kenyan pair of Prackcides Agala and Gaudencia Makokha qualified for the Tokyo Games in 2021 after defeating Nigeria 2-1 at the Africa Continental Cup in Agadir, Morocco. Their male counterparts were eliminated by Mozambique.

He was hopeful that the men's team would build on their performance this time around.

"We have had confirmation from about six countries and the Kenyan team is already in residential training. We expect them to win and represent the zone in the coming games as they have done before. Kenya are the champions in the beach volleyball team and we expect the men to live up to the billing," Nyaberi averred.

Oduor seeking to add fresh legs to the Nzoia squad in January

The top three countries in the zonal qualifiers will qualify for next year's CAVB Continental Cup, whose winner will get the sole ticket to the Paris Olympics. The winner will automatically qualify for the delayed African games.

About CAVB Zone V

"Zone V is the biggest in Africa and it comprises 12 countries from Egypt to Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi. So far six countries have confirmed and we may have as many as eight for that championship," the president explained.