Tokyo, March 30, 2006: The 21st African Clubs Championship for women will give Kenya coach David Lung'aho the perfect opportunity to assemble his World Championships players.
The 12-team field for the continental event, to be held in Vacoas, Mauritius, from April 17-25, features two Kenyan clubs: Kenya Pipeline, the defending champions, and Kenya Commercial Bank. A third Kenyan team, Telkom Kenya, has withdrawn.
"I would have loved to have had all three Kenyan clubs taking part because it would have given me a wide range of players to choose from," said Lung'aho.
"But, with the withdrawal of Telkom Kenya, I will have to settle for players from KPC and KCB."
Despite the absence of Telkom Kenya, this would not affect the chances of their players being called up for the provisional squad, notably long-serving national team star Dorcas Ndasaba, Lung'aho insisted. Several promising schoolgirls will also be drafted in.
"The World Championships are a very important event for us and I am going to ensure that I select only the best players, because this time around we are not going just to participate; we intend to reach the second round," added the coach, whose team has been drawn with Japan, Korea, Poland, Chinese Taipei and Costa Rica in Pool A, based in Tokyo.
Lung'aho said the tournament in Mauritius would be a good opportunity for players aiming for a place in the World Championships to showcase their talent at a high level, and he called on KPC and KCB players to give their best.
The national team coach, who is also KPC coach, will start preparations early for the World Championships to build up team strength for the tough challenges ahead.
Lung'aho added that, with the availability of funds from the Kenya Volleyball Federation, he intended to include foreign-based players in the provisional squad. These include team captain Violet Baraza, who plays professional volleyball in Romania, and others based in the United States.
During the tournament in Mauritius, the two Kenyan sides -- whose players will make up the bulk of the national team for the World Championships -- will face off with Al Ahly (Egypt), Azur Beaubassin and Vallijee Citizens (Mauritius), and Sonel and FAP of Cameroon.
The other teams in the record field of 12 from nine countries are Inter Club of Congo Brazzaville, Motemba Pembe of Congo RD, Mafolofolo of Botswana, Bejaia of Algeria and National University of Rwanda.
