Kenyan volleyball could rise to global prominence this year

Life begins at 40, or so, I’m told.

That’s why the year 2024 means a lot to me. It’s the year which will take me to within touching distance of the revered 40, at least just a decade away. Not so bad.

But as I step onto ‘third floor’ come October 26, one Sharon Chepchumba, with whom we share a birthday, will have played at her second Olympic Games at only 26! The Malkia Strikers star opposite will certainly be the first name on Luizomar de Moura’s team sheet as Kenya look to make history in Paris by winning a match at the Olympic Games for the first time ever.

Victory of any kind at the Paris 2024 Olympics will be the perfect way to cap Kenya’s resurgence under the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment Programme. FIVB has so far invested around Sh109 million (CHF 590,000) in Coach Support for Kenya through this programme which is the brainchild of FIVB President Dr Ary Graca. So far, the programme has featured two High Performance training camps in Brazil and Morocco in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Flashes of brilliance

And the results have been there for all to see. Last year, Kenya reclaimed the African Nations Championship from Cameroon and is now the top ranked nation in the continent.

That is why I’m tempted to dream big as the New Year starts. When the national team played at the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games back in 2021, the programme had just started yet we walked toe-to-toe with established volleyball nations like hosts Japan, Korea and Serbia before their experience made all the difference.

At the 2022 World Championships in the Netherlands, Kenya once again showed flashes of brilliance against Italy, the Netherlands and Puerto Rico but exited the competition in the first round. Paris will be Kenya’s fourth appearance at the Olympics after previous appearances in Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Tokyo 2020.

Luizomar has done an impressive job in keeping the core of the team intact since he took over. Captain Mercy Moim, Edith Wisa, Aggripina Kundu and Chepchumba have continued to execute their roles perfectly providing a conducive environment for young players to be integrated into the team.

The introduction of youngsters such as Veronica Adhiambo, Emmaculate Nekesa, Belinda Barasa has served to galvanise the team and you begin to sense that they should seize the opportunity to become regulars in Paris.

Three-peat in Accra

But before the trip to Paris, there will be two crucial competitions which could shape Kenya’s fate in the French capital come August. That is the African Games and Volleyball Challenger Cup (VCC). Malkia Strikers are the defending champions which means the African Games should be taken seriously.

Victory in Accra, Ghana in March will mean a three-peat after previous success in Morocco 2019 and Congo Brazzaville 2015. It will also be a good chance for the local coaches led by Japheth Munala, to test some of the promising local players like Mercy Iminza and Pamela Adhiambo as the professional players Chepchumba and Veronica will still be in action for their respective clubs in Greece.

Last year, Kenya were eliminated at the first hurdle of the VCC after losing 3-1 to Colombia in the quarter-finals. It was befitting that the tournament was held in France to give them a feel of what to expect in this year’s Olympics.

This year’s VCC scheduled for July, will provide Luizomar with a golden opportunity to gauge his players against quality opposition just a few weeks to the Olympics. The winner of this competition automatically qualifies for the lucrative Volleyball Nations League (VNL) which means all participating countries will field strong teams. Kenya could deliver a statement of intent ahead of Paris by making it to the final.

That would mean winning two matches at the VCC and the players that will achieve this historic feat will definitely have staked their claim in the Olympics roster given that only 12 players will be fielded in Paris as opposed to the usual 14 for FIVB competitions. A tough call awaits Luizomar and his technical staff in selecting the best 12 for the Paris Olympics job.

FIVB Club World Championship slot

The men’s team, Wafalme Stars, have an uphill task qualifying for the African Games from Zone Five with Egypt and Rwanda in the picture but getting the ticket to Accra alone will represent a good start to the year.

On the sand, Kenya’s beach volleyball queens and the men’s team face a Herculean task to qualify for the Paris Olympics by winning the CAVB Continental Cup. Gaudencia Makokha played in Tokyo and will certainly be craving back-to-back appearances in Paris which would be a massive achievement given the contrast in preparations compared to their main rivals like Morocco, Mozambique and Egypt.

Their performance at the African Games will give an indication of what to expect at the Continental Cup. It is my hope that qualifying for Paris 2024 will open doors for corporates to support the beach volleyball team by taking them to Futures and Challenge events in the Beach Pro Tour to help them improve their ranking.

Our local clubs also have a chance to grace the global scene this year by featuring at FIVB Club World Championship in December. The winner of this year’s CAVB Africa Clubs Championship will get a slot in the global competition and that should be enough motivation for Kenyan clubs to reclaim the continental title last won by KCB in 2022.

Pipeline came agonisingly close last year after losing 3-1 to Zamalek in the final and will carry Kenya’s hopes alongside league champions KCB in this year’s edition. Our men’s representatives Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Kenya Prisons have been on the learning curve for a while now and it’s high time they step up and at least reach the podium.

All indications point to a promising year for Kenyan volleyball but the real work starts now. Over to you Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) President Charles Nyaberi and team!

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