Volleyball dominates Soya women team award nominations

From left: Kenya women's beach volleyball players Brackcides Agala, Phoscah Kasisi, Gaudencia Makokha and Yvonne Wavinya pose for a picture after qualifying for the final round of the Continental Cup cum Olympic qualifiers in Agadir, Morocco on June 23, 2021.
 

Photo credit: Pool | CAVB

What you need to know:

  • The beach volleyball team made history by qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games for the first time ever
  • Vihiga Queens had a season to remember after they were crowned the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) champions
  • Kenya Lionesses won the Safari Sevens round robin tournament after finishing unbeaten, thanks to wins over Uganda, Zimbabwe, Titans Academy of South Africa and Kenya Lionesses second string team


The national women’s beach volleyball team and Vihiga Queens have been nominated for 2021 Women Sports Team of the Year award.

The beach volleyball and Vihiga Queens team will battle several other teams for the award where the winner will be declared during the 2021 Sports Personality of the Year Awards (Soya) due January 25 at the Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega.

This year's awards are sponsored by Kakamega County Government, Lotto Foundation, CPF Financial Services, National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and Safaricom.

The beach volleyball team made history by qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games for the first time ever.

Vihiga Queens had a season to remember after they were crowned the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) champions/ winners of Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League regional qualifiers in Nairobi last November.

Queens, who boast of free-scoring Jentrix Shikangwa, would qualify for the first time ever in the CAF Champions League in Egypt where they bowed out in the first round after losing to big teams among them River Angels of Nigeria and Malabo Queens from Equatorial Guinea.

Also to be nominated are the national women’s volleyball team, Malkia Strikers, national women’s sevens rugby team, Kenya Lionesses and national women’s basketball team.

Malkia Strikers was the only African team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and although they did not win a single match, their improved performance caught the eyes of coaches from South Korea, Japan, Dominican Republic and Brazil.

After a punishing Olympics, Malkia did not have time to rest as they proceeded to Rwanda for the Africa Nations Championships where they lost to Cameroon in the final. 

Despite the loss both Kenya and Cameroon qualified for the 2022 World Championships that will be co-hosted by Netherlands and Poland.

Kenya Lionesses won the Safari Sevens round robin tournament after finishing unbeaten, thanks to wins over Uganda, Zimbabwe, Titans Academy of South Africa and Kenya Lionesses second string team.

Other accolades for Lionesses include finishing 10th at the Tokyo Olympics.

The national women’s basketball team, which is ranked ninth in Africa and 71st in the world, is also deservedly in the nominations.

The team qualified for the 2021 AfroBasket and also topped the Zone Five qualifiers in Kigali, Rwanda ahead of Egypt, Rwanda and debutants South Sudan.

During the event, Kenya won four matches and lost two which earned them a host of admirers.