Handball junior national teams will finally started preparations for the upcoming U-20 African Championship on Monday (today).This comes after stalled discussions over funds for preparations between the national Handball Federation and the Ministry of Sports and Culture sparked fear the teams would not participate in the competition.The women and men’s teams qualified for the tournament to be stage in Ivory Coast from August 26 to September 3 in April. The last two weeks have marked intense discussions between the ministry and the federation regarding the proposed budget of Rwf50million to enable the team to take part in the competition. “We are relieved that the ministry has accepted to provide the money. We don’t have the money in cash, but we received a letter this week informing us that it will be provided,” the Handball Federation Secretary General Alfred Twahirwa told this paper at the weekend.Emmanuel Bugingo, who is in charge of Sports in the MINISPOC, confirmed the agreement between the two parties, saying that the finance department is working on the funds transfer to the federation’s account.The news is a relief for not only the federation but for the players and handball fans in the country, who feared the worst as the chances of the teams to participate in their first ever African championships.
