Nigeria has been drawn against 2023 World Silver medallist, Egypt in Group A of the 2024 ParaVolley Africa Sitting Volleyball Zone Championships, www.aclsports.com reports.
The 2024 ParaVolley Africa Sitting Volleyball Zone Championships draws was held in Rabat, Morocco on Saturday.
Other teams in Nigeria group for the competition are Morocco and Kenya.
Meanwhile, Rwanda were drawn in Group B with Algeria, Libya and Zimbabwe.
President of Nigeria Paravolley Federation, Kayode Ladele told www.aclsports.com that Nigeria can scale through the group stage despite playing against highly rated Egypt.
Ladele charged the players to prepare themselves in making history by qualifying for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
He said, “I believe anything is possible in the world of sports. Given that Egypt is currently ranked number 1 in Africa and they picked a silver medal at the 2023 World Paravolley (WPV) Sitting Volleyball World Cup, we will still slug it out with them. The team will slug it out with the rest of the countries in Group A to scale the group stages.
“The players need to understand that they are on the verge of making history; no one is unbeatable in sports. They have to remove fear first and focus on their abilities within”.
He said, “The players have already started arriving since last night and will commence training on Monday. The Nigeria Paravolley Federation is requiring support from Nigerians, corporate, and private sectors to join hands in putting Nigeria up there in the Paravolley world.
“The technical crew handling the team should develop wisdom with every game as we progress. Never create fear in the minds of the players and put sentiments aside and do what is right for the general good of our nation”, he concluded.
Eight men’s teams are chasing glory for the upcoming African Zone Championship that will take place in Lagos, Nigeria from January 29 to February 3.
This event will serve as the zonal qualification tournament for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in France, which will be played between August 28 to September 8.
In the women’s tournament, three teams are confirmed to compete, namely hosts Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Rwanda
