THE Rwanda men’s volleyball team has singled out Kenya as the main threat in the upcoming Africa Zone Five World Championship qualifiers set to be held in Kigali from November 25.Speaking to the media recently, head Coach Paul Bitok said, “Kenya will be the main threat in our bid to qualify for the last phase of African qualifiers. Against Kenya it will be a war.”“Our level has gone up and I believe we will meet less resistance against Uganda and Burundi. We need to concentrate and win these two matches to qualify before meeting our biggest competitor Kenya with less pressure,” the ex-Kenyan international admitted.He added, “As coach, I want to put confidence in our players and I believe they will go into the tournament better off to face and emerge victors against any team, be it Egypt or Kenya.”Rwanda will play Egypt, Kenya, Uganda and Burundi in the next leg where the first finishers will book a ticket to the final qualifying round to be played next year.Professional pair of Yakan Guma Lawrence (Etoile Sportive de Setif) and Mukunzi Christopher (El Fanar) is expected to link up with the national team a fortnight before the tournament kicks off.The last time Rwanda hosted a regional tournament of this calibre in 2011, the hosts emerged winners after thrashing Burundi 3-0, Kenya 3-0 and neighbours Uganda 3-1.The runner-up of this competition will join Egypt, Botswana, Cape Verde and Zambia in Pool A as the other Pools will have five teams each fighting for only three spots available for the African continent.
