The Head Coach of Nigeria women’s senior volleyball team, Samuel Ajayi has included COAS Spikers player, Ijeoma Ukpabi in his 12-man squad for the 13th African Games in Ghana.
The 13th African Games will take place in Ghana from 8th to 23rd March, 2024.
Aliyah Usman, Maryam Ibrahim, Ifunanya Udeagbala, Blessing Unekwe, Deborah Chukwu Mmesomachi Okekearu Kelechi Ndukauba and Mariam Usman will be making their debut at the African Games following their performances in the Nigeria Volleyball Premier League.
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Helen Umeh, Sharon Achi and Happy Wushilang are among the regulars included in the squad.
Samuel Ajayi said the selection of the team is a combination of experienced and young active players who will make the country proud.
Ajayi said the Nigeria Volleyball Federation camped the players before the ministry of sports development took over.
He said, “The Nigeria Volleyball Federation under the leadership of Engineer Musa Nimrod kept the players in camp for three weeks before the ministry of sports took over; it shows that the Federation means business. It gave the coaching crew enough room to select the final 12. I believe with God on our side, mother luck will shine on us”.
“With the one month camping exercise, Nigeria has what it takes to stand on the podium at the Games; we also see luck to see us through. In 2019, the women’s team narrowly lost the third place match because of the home advantage in Morocco”, he added.
Full List:
Sharon Achi, Aliyah Usman, Ijeoma Ukpabi, Maryam Ibrahim, Happy Wushilang, Ifunanya Udeagbala, Blessing Unekwe, Deborah Chukwu, Helen Umeh, Mmesomachi Okekearu, Kelechi Ndukauba and Mariam Usman
