Para volleyball team to report to camp on July 3

Nairobi County (in orange) play host Uasin Gishu team during para volley trails finals at Gulab Lochab Club in Eldoret. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

Kenya's Para Volley team will start residential training at the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani from July 3, officials have confirmed after a meeting with Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba.

The team of 48 sitting volleyballers (24 men and a similar number of women) was selected after the national trials in Eldoret on Saturday, May 20, and Para Games World Cup in Egypt in November.

The Para volley squad, which will be scaled down to 24 players, 12 from each side, will represent the country at the Africa Para Games scheduled for Accra, Ghana from September.

On Friday, the Para Volleyball Federation of Kenya met Namwamba in Nairobi as preparations for the Accra and Egypt games began in earnest.

Yesterday, Para Volley Federation of Kenya Secretary General Justus Katumo said the federation will assemble a squad to take the Para Volley to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Katumo said the federation is preparing logistics before the camp and ahead of departure to the continental and global shows.

"We are assembling our training materials including jerseys and carpets ahead of July 3. The federation is also making sure that the venue at Kasarani is ready to host the national team for rigorous training," Katumo told Standard Sports yesterday.

He said the national team selected in Eldoret was officially handed to the Sports ministry.

Uasin Gishu County sports executive Lucy Ngendo was nominated as the team's ambassador.

"We are working closely with the Ministry of Sports and CS Ababu in every step of the preparations. Our budget for the international competitions is ready and will soon be presented to the ministry for approval. We are getting the necessary support so far, and we are confident of bringing the trophy home," the federation secretary said.

The federation requested for international Para Volley coaches from Egypt and the Netherlands, saying that if it succeeds, the team will sharpen its skills ahead of the continental championship.

"Before the call-up, the national team continues to train in their counties alongside their counterparts who are preparing for local tournaments," Katumo added.

Nairobi and Uasin Gishu whose teams lifted the women's and men's titles during the national bonanza in Eldoret have the biggest number of Para volleyballers in the national team.

Nairobi has five men and four women in the team, while Uasin Gishu produced five sitting volleyballers each to the national squad.

Kisumu and Narok have three men each on the national team.