National women’s beach volleyball team are positive they will compete for the top honours at the 2017 World beach volleyball Championship set for June 28 to July 5 in Vienna, Austria.
However, the Kenya Volleyball Federation will have to raise Sh1.5m to fund the team’s local preparations, allowances and air fare to enable them honour championship in Europe. The team is expected to have three-week training regime before leaving for the championship.
“We still don’t have the money but we must send this team. We are heading to the Ministry of Sports today (yesterday) to try and push for the funding from the government,” said Ben Juma, the KVF secretary general.
Naomi Too and Gaudencia Makokha finished third in the African qualifiers staged in Maputo, Mozambique last April to book a place in the world bonanza. Makokha said they will not be going to participate but to compete for the top position.
“We won’t be preparing to just participate at the world championships. We are vying for all the top accolades on offer,” said Makokha.
This will not be the first time for the pair (both playing for Kenya Pipeline), who are ranked among the best in the continent, to compete at the senior global stage. In 2013, Too and Makokha represented Kenya at the FIVB World under-23 Championships in Poland. They since grown up in the game and Too reckons that
they have what it takes to challenge the world’s best for gold medal.
“We are going to meet our peers and we won’t leave anything to chance. They may have had a lot of exposure than us, but we have been, and still are doing our homework well. Under the guidance of our able coaches, we will polish up and do well in the championships,” noted Too.
When the federation was on the verge of not sending both men and women’s teams to the continental qualifiers, Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company intervened and sponsored the lineup to a tune of Sh0.8m.
Meanwhile, NCWSC have pledged to partner with the federation to set up a beach volleyball court at Ng’etho, the source of Ndakaini dam, in Muranga County. Waithaka Kioni, KVF president said such a facility will greatly reduce the cost of preparing beach teams in Mombasa.
“Having a beach court in Muranga will not only help nurture more talent but also reduce the cost of preparing our teams for future continental and international assignments,” said Kioni who hosted NCWSC managing director Eng. Phillip Gichuki on Wednesday morning. Gichuki said his firm is keen to continue supporting volleyball in the country.