in Agadir, Morocco

After sealing their spot in the Tokyo Olympics at the just ended CAVB Continental Cup cum Olympic qualifiers here, the national women's beach volleyball team wants better training facilities.

The pair of Gaudencia Makokha and Brackcides Agala saw off Amarachi Nwachukwu and Francisca Ikhiede 2-1(17-21,21-18,15-10), as Kenya Team Two of Phoscah Kasisi and Yvonne Wavinya defeated Touch Nnoruga and Francisca Albertina 2-0(17-21,21-18,15-10) to bag the sole ticket reserved for Africa at next month's Olympics.

The team is scheduled to arrive in the country Monday at 9:35pm.

The men and women's teams have over the years been forced to train at Pride Inn hotel and Jamboree in Mombasa County, something team coach Sammy Mulinge says should change.

"We should have beach courts in every county since building courts is not expensive. What is needed is location, sand and proper measurements.

Really we can't always be going to Mombasa for preparations ahead of every event, when we can easily create courts anywhere, but more so in Nairobi where most of the players are drawn from," said Mulinge, who doubles up as the Kenya Ports Authority men's team coach, after the women's team won against Nigeria in the final on Sunday.

"Again having many training facilities will make the sport accessible to many players or even create interest and thus having many players to choose from, which will then make the selection competitive," he added.

Mulinge also urged the government to hasten the plans for the team to start training ahead of the Olympics.

Acting Commissioner of Sports, Japson Gitonga, who accompanied the team to the North African country, proposed that Sport Kenya develops beach courts at the open space at the Nyayo National Stadium to identify, nurture and train the abundant talent in the country.

National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) president Paul Tergat and Webuye West Member of Parliament Duncan Wanyama had also pitched camp in Agadir to support the team.

Wanyama, who sits in the sports commission in parliament, assured the players that he will table their concerns.

Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) Sport and Events Organising Secretary, Walter Otieno, said the country has to get it right if the sport is to grow.

"I have been in Egypt for over seven years. The North African countries have invested heavily in sports facilities and that's why they are able to outdo other nations in Africa. Kenya has the potential to do well in beach, but lack of facilities is evident, and I hope we change our ideologies," said Otieno.

Men's team captain Ibrahim Oduor challenged the upcoming players to grow from the competition.

"Definitely these are not the results we wanted, but to have competed at this stage was promising. Many a times we haven't been fielded in the last stage of the Olympic qualifiers due to financial constraints, but we got the chance this time. We are just glad we earned points that would finally help us improve on the rankings," said the soft spoken Kenya Prisons team captain. 

Kenyan men finished sixth in the eight nations event as hosts Morocco won the title and will represent Africa at the Olympics. 

Agala, who joined beach volleyball in 2019 said, "My wish was to participate in the Olympics as an indoor player, but its unfortunate I didn't get chance due to transition. I thank coach Mulinge and my partner Gaudencia Makokha for the trust they had in me," said Agala.

The team was scheduled to arrive in the country yesterday(Monday) at 9:35pm.