Nairobi Star (Nairobi)
Stanley Magut
14 June 2011
FOUR East Africa countries will be represented in the Paul Bitok International tournament planned for this weekend at the Eldoret Polytechnic.
The event has attracted hosts Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda. Uganda will be represented by four teams thus -Kampala City Council, Kampala Amateur Volleyball Club (both men and women), Nkumba University and Nemo Stars.
Burundi will field Muzinga and Rukinzo while Kigali Volleyball Club women’s team, Patriotic Army of Rwanda (men) and Nyanza will fly Rwanda’s flag in the tournament.
According to the event organisers, the top eight teams playing in the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) league, have confirmed participation and so have top local schools.
Among the clubs expected are-GSU, Ulinzi, Forest Rangers, Kenya Prisons, Stima Mombasa and Nairobi Posta in the men’s category and Prisons, Pipeline, KCB, Blue Triangle, Posta and Homegrown in the women’s.
Cheptil are expected to defend the schools’ title but will face stiff opposition from last year’s finalists Kosirai and Malava. The battle is expected to be a mouth-watering clash considering the foreign teams which were eliminated by Kenyan clubs last year are here for revenge.”Foreign teams learned more last year and this time round they’re prepared for any eventualities. They have learnt from their past mistakes and local sides should expect a tricky ride this time round,” said Paul Bitok, the event’s sponsor.
Pipeline beat Kampala Amateur Volleyball Club (KAVC) women’s team l 3-1 at the event’s quarter final last year but they went ahead to lose to thev African women’s club champions Prisons in the final.
In the men’s category, Posta showed little respect for the national champions Kenya Prisons, posting an emphatic 3-0 win to carry the title last year. Bitok, who is also the coach of the Rwanda national volleyball team, said the organising committee will meet today to deliberate on cash awards for the winners.”We are still waiting for other sponsors to avail their cash so that we can know exactly how much to be awarded. Last year, winners in both categories got Sh120,000 while runners-up received Sh80,000,” said Bitok.
The event, which is in its 10th edition since inception and second after incorporating foreign clubs, is sponsored by Paul Bitok assisted by Brazafric Enterprises of Brazil, Nairobi Sports House, Saroyo Water, Amaco and KCB.Bitok said they need more sponsorship considering the event was international and they are way below their budget. “We are still appealing for more sponsors to enable us standardize this tourney,” he said.
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