The Gambia women’s beach volleyball team has intensified training in preparation for the final round of the 2016 Olympics qualifiers scheduled to hold in Abuja from April 13 to 18, 2016.
Speaking at their training ground at the Palma Beach, Gambia Coach Ebrima Nyass expressed confidence ahead of the historic finals. “We have prepared enough for this event and I believe we can do upset,” he said in a Gambia Volleyball Federation (GVBF) press release sent to Observer Sports Desk.
“This level of competition is no more new to us; we made history in Senegal, and recently in Ivory Coast; why not Nigeria. When my players wrote down their plans during the second round in Abidjan, many [people] termed us as minnows, but we went and amazed and this time around they are more mature and hungry for glory,” Nyass stated with confidence.
The Abuja competition would be contested by 12 teams. The participants are hosts Nigeria; Rwanda, Kenya, Mozambique, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, Morocco, Egypt, The Gambia, Ghana, Namibia and Burkina Faso.
The 12 teams are paired into four groups of three teams each with The Gambia in Group B along with Ghana and Burkina Faso. The overall winner of the competition would qualify directly to the Olympic Games in Rio while the second and third placed teams would qualify for the world cup and world championship respectively but Nyass said he wants his team to qualify directly to this summer’s Games.
The Gambia’s participation, according to the Association, would be fully funded by The Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC).
Report by Muhammed Lamin Saidkykhan, GVBF Media Officer