With only three spots up for grabs to the 2018 World Championships, Rwanda national men’s volleyball team has set a target to the finish in the top three at forthcoming Volleyball Africa Cup of Nations, scheduled for October 20-30 in Cairo, Egypt.

Team captain Olivier Ntagengwa explained to Times Sport before departing for Cairo on Saturday that, "Our aim is to be in the top three at the African Championships. We know that it will be a tough competition that needs careful planning, commitment and sacrifice but we’re confident.”

The 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship will be co-hosted by Italy and Bulgaria from September 10 to 30.

University of Kibungo (UNIK) captain, Ntagengwa, 25, was appointed as the acting captain in the absence of Christophe Mukunzi and he will be assisted by Fred Musoni, also 25, who features for Finland first division side Liiga Riento.

"We had good preparations and we have set the target of finishing among the top three so that we qualify for the World Championships. We believe we have the capacity to achieve our goal,” he added. He noted that, "We have a good mixture of youth and experienced players. I believe we are in the right position to compete against big teams.” The 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championships will be the first time that the tournament will be held in two countries. The semi-finals and finals will take place in Turin, Italy. Twenty-four national teams are expected to compete.

In Cairo, Rwanda will compete against the likes of Tunisia, Cameroon, Algeria, Morocco, Cape Verde, Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, DR Congo, Congo, Kenya, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, Libya, Chad and the hosts Egypt.

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