Kenya : Adorned With 10 Crowns

Kenya added a new title to their cupboard of achievements after winning their tenth title at the 2023 Women’s African Nations Volleyball championship which ended August 24, 2023 in Yaounde. They had an easy ride over Egypt (3 sets to 0) in the final at the Yaounde Multipurpose Sports Complex. Before the final, the team had an unbeaten run in the competition, toping Group B with all five matches won and progressing to knockout stages to discard all challenges on their path of clinching a tenth title and qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 
The win over Egypt in the final meant that they had returned to the glory scene after failing in the previous three consecutive editions. Before the 2023 edition, Kenya lost to Cameroon in 2017, 2019 and 2021 finals. The objective of getting back to the scene in 2023 was therefore attained. Apart from being ten-time champions, the win in Yaounde meant they had picked their spot for yet another Olympic Games after the 2000, 2004 and 2020 editions. Worth highlighting is the fact that since Kenya started winning the Women’s African Nations Volleyball Championship in 1991, they have not gone below the second-place finish.
This is thanks to a compact team they have grown for years which only gets better as they days go by. They got a serious booster when they benefited from the Volleyball Empowerment programme pilot project before the 2020 Olympic Games. The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) sent coaching support to the national team. The Kenyan team participated in a 90-day high-performance training camp in Kenya with elite Brazilian coaches led by Head Coach Luizomar de Moura to further enhance their technical performance ahead of the Games. Head Coach Luizomar coord...