What are the expectations for Malkia Strikers’ new bench?
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Reading Time: 3min | Mon. 31.03.25. | 15:36
The four-time Olympians are yet to get out of the group phase, a feat Omondi’s charges will hope to achieve this year
Malkia Strikers have a new boss at the helm, Geoffrey Omondi, who is holding the said office for the first time at the senior women’s team level.
Omondi, a FIVB Level Two coach, who has previously served as Wafalme Stars (men’s national team) coach in 2015 and as the assistant coach of the men’s U18 team, will be assisted by KCB’s David Muthui and Esther Chepkosgei who was the Kenya Pipeline head coach until the appointment of Omondi.
The trio is joined by Mavisi Azenga, who has been named the team’s technical trainer, a position previously held by the late Janet Wanja, who tragically passed away in December 2024 after battling cancer.
The tactician will be in charge of the women’s national team until the end of the year, after which the federation will decide whether to extend his contract or hire a new tactician.
This leaves the 2025 FIVB Women’s World Championships scheduled for Friday, 22 August to Sunday, 7 September in Thailand as Omondi’s key focus as he assumes office.
The championship will be held in Bangkok, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phuket, and Chiang Mai, with the top two sides in each pool qualifying for the round of 16 stage.
Nine-time African champions, Malkia, are in a tough Pool G for the global Championship to be held across five cities of the Southeast Asian country, where they renew rivalry with Poland, a side they faced at the Paris Olympic Games. Germany and Vietnam complete the pool.
Cameroon and Egypt, the other African representatives, are in Pool H, which has reigning champions Serbia, former Olympic champions Japan, and Ukraine for the former, and Pool A, which also has the hosts, the Netherlands and Sweden for the latter.
Malkia Strikers will be making their eighth appearance in the Women's World Championship, hoping to improve on their 19th-place finish from the 2022 edition, where the side picked one win against continental rivals Cameroon.
The country’s first win at the Championships came in 2018 when the then Japheth Munala-coached women beat Kazakhstan in straight sets of 25-23, 25-22 and 25-21.
The next edition (2022) brought the second win for the country against the Central Africans Cameroon in a 3-0 (25-20, 27-25 and 25-19).
The four-time Olympians are yet to get out of the group phase, a feat Omondi’s charges will hope to achieve in the expanded 32-team competition this year.
Pool A: Thailand, Netherlands, Sweden, Egypt in Bangkok
Pool B: Italy, Belgium, Cuba, Slovakia in Phuket
Pool C: Brazil, Puerto Rico, France, Greece in Chiang Mai
Pool D: USA, Czechia, Argentina, Slovenia in Nakhon Ratchasima
Pool E: TĂĽrkiye, Canada, Bulgaria, Spain in Nakhon Ratchasima
Pool F: China, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Mexico in Chiang Mai
Pool G: Poland, Germany, Kenya, Vietnam in Phuket
Pool H: Japan, Serbia, Ukraine, Cameroon in Bangkok
Malkia Strikers' record at the World Championships
1994 — 13th place
1998 — 13th place
2002 — 21st place
2006 — 21st place
2010 — 21st place
2014 — did not qualify
2018 — 20th place
2022 — 19th place
2025 — Qualified
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