Junior Malkia Strikers keen to avert age-cheating

The National Under-20 Volleyball head coach Paul Gitau says only players of the right age will earn selections to the Africa Championships set for August this year.

Gitau warned that age cheats will have no room in his squad and reiterated they will not bend any rules ahead of the continental event that will be hosted at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

“One thing I am keen on is the age of the players. The rules are very clear. Only players who are below the age of twenty can take part in the competition. Those who qualify must have been born in 2000 onwards. Those are the rules and my intention is to follow that,” Gitau said.

The junior Malkia Strikers will be training in Kasarani but Gitau was unable to ascertain the exact date in which he expects to have the team in camp.

“We do not have the players at our disposal because of school commitments. As such, we will work very closely with their schools; follow up on them and their coaches to know their training schedule.

“On our part, we will share our training programme with the coaches and schools so that by the time they are available for the African Championships they will be ready,” he added.

The team will largely be made up of High School students who will first take part in the Inter secondary school games then head to Kigali, Rwanda for the East Africa Games.

Twelve players will be selected from across the country to represent the national during the championships with the squad naming to be done after the East Africa Secondary School Games.

The dates for the tournament are yet to be confirmed with the winners and the runners up set to represent the continent at the U-20 world championships next year.