Rwanda men in tougher route than women in African Zone Championships

Rwanda sitting volleyball coach, Dr. Mosaad Elaiuty, talked to Kigali Today about the men’s and women’s teams preparations for the 2024 ParaVolley Africa Sitting Volleyball Zone Championships, which will take place in Lagos, Nigeria from January 29 to February 3.

The renowned Egyptian tactician particularly expressed his confidence on his women’s squad and that the route to Paralympic Games qualification will be easier, while his men’s team would face tough competition in the tournament.

The preparations have started since November 2023, as both Rwandan squads competed at the World Cup in Cairo, Egypt.

“We started from the World Cup in November and now we are preparing well. The time is very short, I am not happy about it. But the problem was that the help did not come early to start the preparations together,” Elaiuty said.

The Rwandan men were drawn in Group B with Zimbabwe, Algeria and Libya.

“The real competition will start in the next rounds because we will play Group A teams, which is a strong pool, with Kenya, Morocco and Egypt there,” the coach said.

As for the women’s team that ended the year 2023 ranked fifth in the world, Elaiuty believes that they have the advantage compared to their opponents.

“We are now four teams because in the past few days they have allowed Kenya to join the competition, and we will play with them, along with Nigeria and Zimbabwe, who are playing at a lower level. The women’s team of Rwanda is now competing at a higher level and are playing against strong teams, so it’s probably an easier competition for us,” the coach said.

“We are going to prepare the team to win and get a ticket for Paris. That is now our goal, then we will think about the next thing, which is to prepare for Paris,” he said.