Mainland to field four teams in Rwanda

TANZANIA Mainland will field four teams in the East and Central African volleyball championship to be held in Rwanda next month.

The tournament will pick two teams from the region for the African Championship set for Egypt early next year.

Tanzania Amateur Volleyball Association (TAVA) assistant secretary general George John said yesterday Mainland would be represented by Prisons and Jeshi Stars in both men and women’s categories.

’’The African Championship finals will be held in Egypt but teams have been placed in zones and each is required to field two teams,’’ he said.

Other countries expected to assemble in Kigali are Burundi, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Seychelles, Sudan, Uganda, Zanzibar and hosts Rwanda.

John said although they have been informed of the tournament very late, TAVA was confident the four Mainland representatives would fare impressively.

’’We’ve confidence in the four teams and we’re optimistic they will excel in Kigali,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, John admitted that his association was facing acute financial problems.

’’We’re in the red because we don’t have enough sources of income. As a result, we have failed to promote the game nationwide,’’ he said.

He appealed to stakeholders to invest in volleyball development.