The KCB Women Volleyball team has released 8 of its players picked to the national team, Malkia Strikers squad to allow them to prepare for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in July.
With the players and part of the coaching staff involved in the national team duty, the KCB team will therefore not be participating in this year’s African Club Championship competitions set for April 19 to May 1 in Sousse, Tunisia.
The player; captain Noel Murambi, Mercy Moim, Edith Mukuvilani, Sharon Chepchumba, Jemima Siangu, Violet Makuto, Leonida Kasaya and Emmaculate Misoki, have been training with fellow national team players at the Kasarani Indoors Arena under the guidance of Coach Paul Bitok and Japheth Munala who are also part of the KCB coaching staff.
The Malkia Strikers will be the only women volleyball team from Africa taking part at the forthcoming Olympic games to be staged in Tokyo, Japan from July 16 to August 8, 2021.
The Kenyan Government in conjunction with the International Volleyball Federation, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya and the Kenya Volleyball Federation have jointly prepared an elaborate training programme for the Malkia Strikers.
This programme includes the team’s high performance training camp in Brazil during the entire month of May and similar training in Europe for 15 days prior to the team’s departure for a ten days pre-competition training camp in Japan.
“We are happy to contribute our elite players and coaches for national assignments and therefore they will not be available for club engagements until the team is back from Tokyo,” said the team patron, Judith Sidi Odhiambo who is also the KCB Group Head of Corporate Affairs.
The KCB team has suspended its sporting activities in line with the government’s Covid-19 containment measures as have other KCB sports teams; KCB FC, KCB Rugby FC and KCB Chess Team. This also affects all KCB sponsored events such as the KNRC Rally, KCB Autocross, golf and athletics.