Kenya Volleyball Federation have withdrawn the national women’s team from the 2017 Federation of International Volleyball Grand Prix due to the financial constraints.
KVF will instead focus on the national under 23 team.
The team faced a similar predicament ahead of the 2016 Olympics qualifiers in Puerto Rico before the FIVB intervened.
KVF secretary general Ben Juma said the Grand Prix budget amounted to around Sh8m, while that of the under 23 lineup is Sh5m thus was prudent to focus on the latter.
“We cannot raise half of the total sum of Sh13m required for the two outings, and we have not even listed the men’s competitions. To ensure we enter a team in an international tournament we had to drop one of the two from competing at the global stage,” noted Juma.
“The U23 side have great potential and we need to develop and give them more exposure.”
Kenya first featured in the FIVB World Grand Prix in 2014 in third cadre of the show where they only won two of their six matches against Algeria and hosts Mexico. In 2015, Malkia Strikers topped FIVB Grand Prix Group III with 100 per cent win and were promoted to Group II in 2016.
Last year, theoretically Malkia Strikers’ penultimate outing under the tutelage of celebrated coach David Lung’aho, the girls lost all their matches Group II. This feat would attract a relegation back to Group III but the world volleyball governing body restored Kenya’s Group II status.
Unfortunately, Africa’s record nine-time champions will have to follow the proceedings from the terraces this year.