Kenya, Cameroon to renew rivalry at FIVB World Championships
Kenya's Pamela Masaisai (left), Lorine Chebet (centre) block an attack from Burundi as Joy Lusenaka provides cover on the back court during their African Nations Championships Pool "B" match at Kigali Arena on September 16, 2021.
What you need to know:
- In the virtual ceremony held at FIVB headquarters in Switzerland, Kenya were grouped alongside hosts Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Cameroon, Belgium and Italy.
- The World Championships will be jointly hosted by Netherlands and Poland from September 23 to October 15.
Kenya will renew rivalry with Cameroon at the 2022 FIVB World Championships after both African nations were placed in Pool ‘A’ during the Drawing of Lots on Thursday night.
In the virtual ceremony held at FIVB headquarters in Switzerland, Kenya were grouped alongside hosts Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Cameroon, Belgium and Italy.
The World Championships will be jointly hosted by Netherlands and Poland from September 23 to October 15.
While Cameroon will be making their third appearance at the World Championships, record African champions Malkia Strikers will be in their seventh outing.
Previous meetings between these two sides have gone either way and it remains to be seen who will claim bragging rights at the global competition.
The last meeting in September last year saw Cameroon beat Kenya 3-1 to claim their third consecutive African Nations Championship title as both sides punched their tickets to the World Championships.
Africa’s representatives will be encouraged by the presence of Puerto Rico in their group as they eye a place in the second round. The top four teams from every group will proceed to the second round.
European champions Italy, led by star attacker Paola Egonu, will start as favourites. Hosts Netherlands and Belgium will provide stiff competition for the Italians who will be looking to go one better after losing the 2018 final to Serbia.
Olympic champions USA will clash with world champions Serbia in Pool C that also has Germany, Bulgaria, Canada and Kazakhstan.
Debutants Colombia will certainly get a rude welcome to the competition from Brazil, China and Japan in Pool D.
Fast-rising Turkey highlight Pool B that also has Poland, Dominican Republic, Korea, Thailand and Croatia.
The second round will feature four pools of four teams playing once again in a round-robin system.
At the end of the second round matches, the rankings of the four pools will be drawn up taking into account the points scored by each team in the first and second rounds.
The four pool-winning teams of the second stage will qualify for the third stage, together with the top two of the second ranked teams.
The six teams competing in the third round will be divided into two three-team pools by a draw. After the matches played once again in a round-robin system, the top two in each pool will qualify for the semi-finals and final.
The third round pool winners play against the runners-up in this round. The semifinals winners advance to compete for the World Championship title. The losers face each other in the third place match.
Drawing of lots:
Pool A: Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Puerto Rico, Cameroon, Kenya
Pool B: Poland, Turkey, Dominican Republic, Korea, Thailand, Croatia
Pool C: USA, Serbia, Germany, Bulgaria, Canada, Kazakhstan
Pool D: Brazil, China, Japan, Colombia, Argentina, Czech Republic
