8th ALL
AFRICA GAMES:
19 MEN AND WOMEN TEAM SEARCHING FOR GOLD
IN THE STRONGEST ALL AFRICA GAMES
Abuja, Nigeria, October 9-: Nineteen national men and women team
will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in volleyball
competition in the Eighth All Africa Games known to start
October 11 here in Abuja, Nigeria and end 18th with all the top
teams in the continent available except for Tunisia men team.
Ten teams will participate in men's category and nine in women's
after withdrawal of Senegal. The participating teams are the
champions of each of the African seven zones, the running Host
country, the previous host country and the last champions. In
men's competition, only Tunisia of the most favorite teams is
absent as they prefer to prepare with a fixed programme to the
World Cup. The second, third and fourth of the last African
Nations Championship in Cairo 2003 namely Egypt, Cameroon and
Algeria will participate with Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana,
Senegal, Ghana, Rwanda and Seychelles. In women competition the
first four teams in the last African Women's Nations
Championship in Nairobi, Kenya 2003 are present, namely Egypt,
Kenya, Cameroon and Algeria respectively with other strong teams
which are Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Mozambique and
Seychelles.
The drawing of lots will occur Friday as the ten men teams will
be divided into two pools of five teams, while the nine women
teams will be divided into a group of five and another of four.
Matches of each group will be in the form of round-robin to
determine the first two teams in each pool which will qualify to
the semifinal.
Nigerian men team head coach, Suraj Onatuga stated that his team
now is ready with his main European based professional players
like Thomas Aroko after the condensed preparation in the last
two months and we are now ready to compete for the gold.
The new Egyptian coach Veselin Vukovic from Serbia Montenegro
who led his country to the final of the last World League said
that it is a great chance for Egypt to win the Gold in absence
of the main competitor Tunisia and it is also a good preparation
to the World Cup in Japan in November as Egypt qualified through
the Wild Card.
CGI
