Rwanda national volleyball teams head coach Paul Bitok has said that the women team has a bright future after finishing on third position at the just concluded U23 Africa Championships, which was staged in Nairobi, Kenya.

Rwanda missed out on the finals of the 2017 World Championships in Slovenia after losing to hosts Kenya 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-19 and 25-20) at the Africa U23 Women Volleyball Championships that climaxed on Thursday evening at Safaricon Kasarani Stadium.

Egypt and Kenya will represent Africa at the World Championships in August next year. During the competition, Rwanda captain Seraphine ‘Baby’ Mukantabara was named as the best server in the tournament.

Bitok said that the sport local governing body, FRVB, needs to continue to devise plans to take the game to the grassroots in a bid to attract more young players.

"It is a matter of giving them (young players) the chance to play as many matches as possible at the international level where they get more experience.

"I believe next year we will have a much stronger senior national team because we have gained a lot from this competition,” said Bitok upon the team’s return from Nairobi on Friday evening.

The Kenyan trainer added, "We only need to continue develop the sport from youth to the senior level.”

The government has set itself a target of propelling the country to the top three on the continent in both basketball and volleyball by the 2017.

Bitok insists that the volleyball federation needs to continue to work closely with primary and secondary schools in promoting the sport, which has helped create and sustain a pool of good players around the country in past years.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw