Namibia will compete in the zonal phase of the CAVB Continental Beach Volleyball Cup from 15 to 17 July in Maputo, Mozambique. The tournament is a step towards qualifying for the London 2012 Olympics. The top four countries will qualify for the next phase where they will play against teams from other zones in Africa.
Heiko Diehl, the president of the Namibia Volleyball Federation (NVF) said that their main aim was to finish in the top four. “That is something I think we can achieve. If we manage to finish in the top four we will go and play against countries in other zones that we have not played against and we will have a bigger chance of qualifying for the final round,” Diehl said.
Rector Mbeha and Mwita Sikopo, and Heiko Diehl and Joel Matthias will represent Namibia in the men’s section. In the women’s section, Anita Kinder and Simone von Wietersheim, and Karin Curshman and Julia Laggner will represent Namibia.
“I believe that South Africa will once again be the team to beat, after they won both the Continental Cup Sub-Zonal as well as the All Africa Games Qualification Tournament earlier this year,” Diehl said.
“Mauritius ladies team are also a force to be reckoned with, since one of their teams plays on the World Circuit. We are however not sure about the men’s team because we have not seen them play,” he added.
The countries that have confirmed their participation in the tournament are Zambia, Mauritius, Madagascar, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland. Botswana and Lesotho are yet to confirm their participation. The Namibian team will leave for Mozambique on Thursday and returns on Monday.