NAIROBI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has failed in its bid to stage the 2019 volleyball Under-18 World Championships, with world governing body FIVB granting the rights to Egypt.
At the same time, Tunisia has been nominated to host the 2019 Boys' Under-19 World Championship.
Tarek Al-Adwar, the Confederation of Africa Volleyball spokesperson, said the decision coincides with FIVB president Ary Graca's new policy of supporting promising national federations and encouraging African team development.
"The FIVB has decided that Tunisia will host the 2019 Boys' Under-19 World Championship, while Egypt will organize the Girls' Under-18 competition," said Al-Adwar on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Kenya has axed six players as head coach Paul Gitau announced a final squad of 14 to compete at the Under-20 women's African Nations Championship, which starts in Nairobi on Sunday. The six, who were part of Kenya's Under-18 squad, are Pauline Ito, Esther Nzaphila, Rael Chepkorir, Gloria Nato, Esther Masubo and Eileen Musungu.
"The selection is down to merit and performance on the court. These are the future of Kenyan volleyball and we must be careful how we expose them on the international arena. They have proved they are worthy and will be a tough team to beat," said Gitau on Saturday in Nairobi.
"I believe we have settled on a side that will help us achieve our target, which is to qualify for the World Championship."
The eight teams to have confirmed their participation in the competition are Rwanda, Nigeria, Egypt, the Seychelles, Botswana, Cameroon, hosts Kenya and Morocco.
The winner of the tournament will book their place at this year's FIVB World Championships.
