KVF plans for indoor matches hits road block
Kenya Volleyball Federation’s plans to move their leagues from outdoors to indoor arenas have hit a snag if the released fixtures for the season that serves off on January 23 is anything to go by.
Before the 2020 season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak, there was a proposal to have the league played on a home and away format in indoor arenas between October and May in 2021, with the period between May and September specifically left for international assignments and beach volleyball.
However, while the federation has adopted the FIVB format where the league is scheduled to conclude in June with plans in place to move to home and away format in the next season, matches will be played outdoors.
As per the fixtures released, teams will be placed in pools with one team playing host.
The men’s league has attracted 13 teams while the women’s league has eight.
Initially, KVF were looking at having Bomas of Kenya and Africa Nazarene University (ANU) host the games alongside Kasarani indoor arena and Makande in Mombasa.
However, only the Mombasa facility is available when Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) host their matches.
Sources privy to the negotiations indicate that Bomas was not available while ANU management had reservations of outsiders accessing their facility due to Covid-19 protocols.
Kasarani has since been booked by the National Olympic Committee of Kenya for the preparation of national teams ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
Meanwhile, the women’s league will see the return of Nairobi Water who have been out of the league since 2017 when the team was disbanded due to financial constraints.
