Rwanda’s volleyball team captain Wycliffe Dusenge is confident that Rwanda has what it takes to become a team to beat ahead of the much-anticipated 2023 Men’s African Volleyball Championship which will be staged in Cairo, Egypt, from August 28 to September 10.

Dusenge, 24, was named new captain of the men’s national volleyball team replacing veteran Yakan Guma Lawrence.

The team, which is under the tutelage of Brazilian coach Paulo de Tarso, has been holding daily training sessions at the Kimisagara Gymnasium.

Prior to the continental volleyball showpiece, Dusenge believes that Rwanda has enough expertise to impress and at least achieve a top three finish in the competition.

"It all falls on how we shall get prepared but I believe we can progress, this competition is big and we want to make sure that we are ready for the challenge. It would be an advantage for the new team comprising pretty many new faces," Dusenge told Times Sport.

"We have played some warm up matches with local teams and, from the current level of performance, we are only getting better. However, we need to improve in every department because most of our opponents in the Africa Championship are strong," he added.

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Rwanda coach Paulo De Tarso named Dusenge as the new national team captain to lead a young squad going to Cairo for the men’s African Volleyball Championship.

The Brazilian is looking to build a strong team around young players who can at least make it to the podium at the continental showpiece

Commenting on the team and its potential to make a big statement in Egypt, Dusenge said, "this is a new generation and more than half of the squad are aged under 24 so we believe that we can deliver better results. It is a big task for us but we are ready to face any challenge, any team ahead of us.”