Kenya Para-Volley to select players ahead of the 2019 world youth championships

Kenya Para-Volley Federation (KPVF) will select national team players in April this year ahead of the 2019 World Youth Championships in South Africa.

Speaking in Nairobi on Thursday afternoon, federation chairman Polycarp Mboya made the announcement and also highlighted on the importance of preparations.

“We want to field a junior team at the 2019 World Youth Championships. If we have to succeed, the players need to be introduced to the game early. Better preparations will also improve our game locally and internationally,” said the KPVF president Polycarp Mboya.

The selection process according to Mboya will be conducted in collaboration with different counties and special schools across the country.

“Special schools are important because they have trained personnel and ready players. Counties too are important because apart from sponsorship, we need development of sporting infrastructure from grassroots level,” added Mboya who also expressed optimism of the growth of para volley sports.

Mboya also did not deny the fact that a debt of Kenya shillings 171,059 could prevent Kenya from honoring the fixtures of the last round in the World Championships qualifiers set for between April 27^th and May 5^th in South Korea.

This also includes Kenya shillings 151,164 in membership fees to the world governing body for the 2018 and 2019 season and another Kenya shillings 18,895 in arrears from last year 2017. The deadline for the payment is February 15^th.

“We have high chances of qualifying, but without clearing the debt, we will be locked out of the tournament. We are appealing to the ministry of sports and well-wishers to sponsor our team,” a dejected Mboya said and added that persons with disabilities have long been neglected and it was a high time that the government and society recognized them.

Meanwhile, KPVF technical bench, led by Vitalis Odhiambo, will select the men and women’s national teams to South Korea during the national sitting volley circuit. The competition scheduled for the month of March in Meru County will have both the men and women battle it out for a chance to represent Kenya.

It is a shame that Kenya being East Africa’s largest economy cannot manage to sponsor persons with disabilities to participate in international sports. It is either an issue of ignorance, discrimination or the common cases of corruption. If Kenya has to be recognized as a big-brother state, then equality to all citizens is mandatory.