Bitok slams Govt after teams locked out of Kasarani

Malkia Strikers head coach Paul Bitok has questioned government’s priorities after volleyball teams were denied access to train at the Kasarani Indoor Arena as the facility was fully booked for other non-sports events.

The Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) teams set to compete in the league playoffs slated for November 22-24 were last week thrown into an awkward situation after the Kasarani management informed them of unavailability of the facility at least until during the playoffs.

Bitok, a former Rwanda national team tactician, says despite the facility open for other events, it was inconsequential to lock out teams preparing for serious event like playoffs also serving as the 2020 African Club Championship qualifiers.

“That was wrong and the management should have given our teams priority when planning for who will use the facility first because we only have Kasarani and Makande (Mombasa) but the latter is far away as most of the teams are based in Nairobi,” he decried.

Bitok also challenged the government to build more indoor facilities in the country to spur volleyball growth as other countries like Rwanda who call Kenya their peers have poured into developing the sport immensely.

“We are joking because I have said not once that volleyball is an indoor sport and when our teams train on the grass and then the play offs are in Kasarani that is very inconsequential because during African championship everything will be done in a gymnasium,” he wondered.

The teams have been forced to look for other alternatives to sharpen their skills ahead of the league climax action with men’s defending champions GSU camping at Ruaraka grounds while Japheth Munala coached KCB are training at Barclay’s grounds.

KPA and KDF are the only clubs which own indoor facilities; Makande Hall and Moi Air Base, Eastleigh respectively.

Reacting to the development, KCB coach Japheth Munala urged clubs to take it up for themselves and invest in their own facilities.

“This is now a wakeup call to other clubs to build their own facilities because it seems it has become a tall order for our government,” he said.

Champions General Service Unit (GSU), Kenya Prisons, Kenya Ports Authority and Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) will fight for the men’s glory while last year’s winners Kenya Prisons, Kenya Pipeline, Kenya Commercial Bank and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) will contest for the women’s title in the KVF league climax.