Eight teams have confirmed their participation at the 2018 Women’s U20 African Nations Championship due to start in Nairobi, Kenya on August 26 and run through to September 2. The confirmed teams are hosts Kenya, defending champions Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Cameroon, Nigeria, Uganda and Rwanda. By press time, Tanzania and Guinea were yet to confirm their participation. Rwanda’s under-20 team entered residential camp for intensive preparations on August 14. The 23-player provisional squad has since been training under the watchful eyes of Christophe Mudahinyuka, the head coach, assisted by APR coach Alex Nkuranga, at Amahoro Stadium. Egypt won the last edition in 2017 after beating Tunisia in the playoffs 3-0 and 3-1, respectively. After Algeria won the inaugural edition in 2002, hosted by Tunisia, Egyptia went on to sweep the title for the next seven consecutive editions. The competition will also double as qualifiers for the 2019 FIVB World U20 Championship. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
