President of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), Mr Musa Nimrod, has charged the country’s male and female teams to target the top spot in the upcoming Africa Volleyball U-19 Championship.
Nimrod gave the charge while addressing both teams ahead of their departure on Monday at the Media Centre, Ahmadu Bello Stadium (ABS), Kaduna.
He said the players goal should be to get the world championship ticket during the Africa Volleyball U-19 Championship billed for Nigeria and Morocco simultaneously.
“We are happy to unveil the U-19 Boys and Girls teams ahead of African championship.
U-19 Boys would be heading for Morocco on Tuesday and the girls to Abuja on Monday,” he said.
Nimrod explained that the female team had to be in Abuja on Aug. 29, ahead of full arrival billed for Aug. 30.
He appealed to the players to be of good conduct during the competition and pray they succeed in the competition.
“After rigorous training from coaches, they are set to go.
“Over 30 players were invited to camp for each team, the boys will go with 12 players, while the girls will go with 14 players because we are hosting.
“It’s our desire that they will come first. Our major goal is to see that we get ticket for world championship,” he said.
Nimrod said Nigeria’s Technical Crew had been assisting them to ensure they excelled at their respective competitions.
“We are pleased with their performance. Our U-19 Boys are defending their ticket. We are challenging them that they have to finish tops.
“It’s unfortunate that our U-21 girls could not make it to Tunisia because of flight tickets.
“We are glad that Morocco is even cheaper than Tunisia, and they are being sponsored by the federation,” he said.
Nimrod added that the game of volleyball was sought after at the grassroots and kept getting huge followership as the days progressed.
“Those days in the 1980s, football and volleyball competed even with the crowd. We pray God to help us to get back and surpass that feat.
“The league is still going to take place. We pray it is successful.
“We want to thank the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and the Zonal Coordinator for accommodating us for the past one and half month.
“I see greater things coming ahead for our coaches and players. Your performance determines whether coaches will invite you to the national camp.
“You have to play as a team, not as individuals. Please work together, move together, talk together, eat together. May God be with you and grant you success,” he said.
Nimrod said that Nigeria would be hosting six countries in the Africa Female U-21 Volleyball Championship and arrangements had been concluded to host the six Confederation of Africa Volleyball (CAVB) officials expected in the country.