The Kenya national women’s beach volleyball team trip to Abuja Nigeria failed to materialize due to the government’s policy on the spreading Corona-virus.
The team was scheduled to leave Nairobi on Tuesday night for the second phase of Africa’s Continental Cup-cum-Olympic qualifiers but the ministry of sports regrettably had not approved their facilitation.
This, the Kenya Volleyball Federation president Waithaka Kioni said this was due to government’s line of reasoning not to allow any Kenyan team to travel to countries with reported and confirmed cases of Coronavirus infection (s).
As of Wednesday evening, (five) countries that had confirmed cases of Corona-virus in Africa include Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
“The principal secretary sports (Joe Okudo) advised that the Ministry of Health will not clear Kenyan teams to travel to any country where the existence of Coronavirus has been confirmed,” said Kioni.
The official was seeking last-minute intervention to ensure the team honours their fixtures at Jabi Lake Beach in Abuja, Nigeria between March 4 and 8. The team comprised Gaudencia Makokha, Brackcides Agala, Phoscah Kasisi and Yvonne Wavinya.
A bogged down coach Sammy Mulinge regretted the development but said the team’s dream to elevate Kenyan beach volleyball to the global stage is still alive.
“I wish to thank all members of the volleyball family and Kenyans of goodwill for standing with the beach volleyball ladies team during the Continental Cup-cum-Olympic qualifiers process. We appreciate your messages of encouragement and motivational all along.
"It's really disappointing to the players when their dreams of making it to the Olympic stage are curtailed by circumstances beyond their control. We all believe everything happens for a reason and we leave everything to the Almighty God. We shall not retire our quest to take Kenyan beach volleyball to the world map,” intimated Mulinge.
Mulinge called upon fans and Kenyans at large to support the men’s national team who are in residential training camp and all other future beach volleyball programs.
The men’s second phase of Continental Cup-cum-Olympic qualifiers process is slated for between March 12 and 16 at the Palma Rima Beach in the coastal Gambian Capital, Banjul. The Kenyan men’s side is drawn alongside Mauritius, Botswana, South Sudan and 2019 All Africa Games gold medallists-cum-host Gambia.
