Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVF) announced on Friday that the male and female volleyball teams of the country have secured a spot in the 13th edition of the Ghana 2024 African Games.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, Martin Melandi, the Technical Director of the federation, revealed the teams’ qualification.
Benin Republic’s failure to honor its match engagements led to Nigeria’s automatic qualification, according to Melandi. He mentioned that the Benin Republic cited inability to fund travel expenses for its teams as the reason for not participating.
Explaining the situation, Melandi stated, “This is Zone three for West Africa. We were supposed to play against Benin Republic, we got their assurance but they withdrew at the last minute.”
He added, “Ali Yaro, Zonal President of West Africa, has written to the Confederation of African Volleyball that Nigeria’s volleyball teams have qualified automatically.”
Given the lack of official matches, exhibition matches were organized for the teams, playing against selected players from Lagos. The men’s team, led by Moses Gana, secured a 3-0 victory over the Lagos State-selected volleyball team, with scores of 30-28, 25-21, 25-22.
