‘Podium finish!’ Gideon Tarus dares to dream with Wafalme Stars

In Cairo

You have to go back 16 years to locate Kenya’s men’s team best ever ranking at the CAVB African Nations Championship, that is 2007 when the tournament was held in South Africa.

Kenya finished a respectable fifth behind champions Egypt, Tunisia, Cameroon and hosts South Africa. Over a decade later, one Gideon Tarus is keen on improving this record as Kenya go in search of an elusive podium finish at the CAVB African Nations Championship that serves off on Sunday here in Cairo.

The Wafalme Stars head coach did not mince his words when asked what his targets for this competition are, setting an ambitious goal of reaching the semi-final for the first time in history.

And Tarus has hit the ground running, swiftly organising a build-up match against Morocco on Saturday morning ahead of the drawing of lots at night which will determine Kenya’s group.

“We have had good preparations and the boys have shown they are ready in the last three weeks. We want to have a good start in the tournament that’s why we organized for a friendly match with Morocco just to gauge ourselves and to help the players acclimatize to the indoor arena before the opening match,” said Tarus upon arrival at the Cairo International Airport on Friday evening.

Memories of the previous edition held in 2021 in Rwanda where his team registered a historic 3-2 win over Egypt in the group before winding up ninth in the final rankings are still fresh. Tarus reckons that it’s important his boys take a game at a time in this year’s edition.

“I have talked to my boys and told them we need to stay focused and avoid getting carried away. We don’t want to repeat the mistake of the last edition where we struggled to beat Egypt then lost a crucial match against Morocco which denied us a place in the quarter-finals.

“If we get to the quarter-finals (this year) then we will definitely reach the semis and from there it’s anyone’s game. We can go all the way to the final and win this cup,” said a buoyant Tarus.

Skipper Enock Mogeni echoed Tarus’ sentiments saying they are in Cairo to make amends for their 2021 slip in Rwanda.

“We want to handle the first round very carefully to ensure we get to the knockout stages. When we reach there, our target will be the podium. Everybody in the team is focused to ensure we achieve this,” underlined Mogeni.

The tournament’s draw will be held on Saturday night with action set to commence on Sunday at the Cairo International Stadium.