Rwanda looks to end winless jinx in North Africa

The national volleyball team is determined to put an end to the winless jinx against North African countries at the African Nations Championship that starts today through to July 30 in Cairo, Egypt. Rwanda has never beaten Algeria, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia in the men’s senior category, but in the junior and youth category, Rwanda has managed to beat Algeria, Morocco and the senior team is determined to do the same. Rwanda has in the past beaten teams like Kenya, Nigeria, Cameroon and Botswana but head coach Paul Bitok will have to beat top teams in Africa like Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Botswana, Mauritius, Kenya and Cameroon to be among the top four. Cameroon, another continental powerhouse, beat Rwanda in four friendly matches this year, but Rwanda beat them last year 3-1 in a World Cup qualifier. Rwanda has dominated Kenya in the last four years at the Zone V championships after beating them in 2011 (3-0) and 2015 (3-2) in Kigali but Rwanda lost to Kenya in the third position playoff 3-0 at the 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique. “It will be a good test for the team and also to gain experience against these teams who have players of high quality. We will try to be at our best form because we want to challenge the big teams,” said the national team captain Christophe Mukunzi. “Our target is to reach the semi final and from there we will see what we can do. We will also use this tournament to reinforce our team spirit as our main goal remains the All Africa Games,” he added. “We have agreed to reach in semi finals and we believe with our capacity we can do that. We know we are going to face tough teams but we will do our best to reach far,” he noted. The last time Rwanda took part in the competition was in 2008 and the national side finished in eighth position. Rwanda is using this tournament to prepare for the All Africa Games to be held in Congo Brazzaville from September 4-19. The top two teams will qualify for the 2015 FIVB Men’s World Cup that will be staged in Japan from September 8 - 23.

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Rwanda looks to end winless jinx in North Africa