Nairobi, Sep 11 (IANS) Kenya has bid to host the African women’s volleyball Olympic qualifier tournament here in February, 2016.
Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) president Waithaka Kioni on Thursday confirmed that Kenya will seek to stage the tournament, which they last did in 2008 prior to the Beijing Olympics, reports Xinhua.
“We feel we have the right facility, fans and time to stage the competition,” Kioni said Thursday in Nairobi. “We have since forwarded our request to Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) in Cairo.”
During Kenya’s last Olympic qualifiers, Kioni said the team travelled to Blida in Algeria during winter, an experience that saw Algeria beat Kenya in the final to qualify for the 2012 London Games.
“We played in very unfavorable conditions with temperatures falling down to almost zero degrees Celsius yet the playing halls had poor air conditioning,” said Kioni. “I hope this time round, the CAVB will consider our case and agree to host the games in a more tropical condition.”
Two teams, China and Serbia qualified for the Rio de Jenairo Olympic Games during the just concluded World Cup held in Japan, being the best ranked countries.
The other 10 teams, including Kenya and Algeria from Africa, will have to fight for a ticket to Brazil from the regional competitions. Qualifying tournaments will also take place in Europe, Asia, North America and South America.
