The president of the Nigerian Paravolley Federation, Kayode Ladele, on Friday said the federation was working towards assembling a national team that Nigerians would be proud of.
He said this in a statement in his post-camp assessment following the conclusion of a two-week training/selection exercise for the men’s national team.
He said the federation was working hard to get a team ready for African Games and the World Paravolley World Cup later in the year.
He said the training/selection exercise was conducted under the supervision of medal-winning and certified international coach, Elaiuty Mosaad, from Egypt.
“There are a lot of activities happening this year. There is a West African versus South African paravolley competition coming up in June.
“There is African Games, and there is the world cup. Already, Nigeria has qualified for the world cup organised by the World Paravolley holding in Egypt.
“We do not want to be caught unawares. So, this is why we arranged the open camp to bring all of them together, choose the team and begin to have regular training,” Ladele said.
On the criteria for players’ invitations across the country, the president said players at the last competition organised by the federation in 2022 would get invitation.
He added that others who had been consistent recently were also welcomed and accommodated.
With the recent acceptance and steady growth of the sport in Nigeria, Ladele says there is a need for consistency and hard work to achieve the short and medium-term goals set.
He said although the West African versus South African paravolley competition was designed for clubs across the two subregions, the federation used it to expose the national team ahead of the African Games between Sept. 3 and Sept. 12, 2023 in Ghana.
“In the long run, we intend to raise a team that can stand as the standard of what we want. Then we can start encouraging teams, players and many people will have something to look forward to,” Ladele said.