For the first time since its inception, the CAVB Men's Club Championship is heading to East Africa—with Kigali at the center of it all. From April 22 to May 3, Rwanda will host Africa’s premier club volleyball tournament, a high-stakes competition that will determine the continent’s representative at the FIVB Men's Club World Championship. Times Sport brings you everything you need to know about the tournament. Origin Founded in 1980, the championship is organized annually by the Confederation of African Volleyball. It brings together top clubs from across Africa’s 54 national federations, grouped into five sub-regions and seven zones. Over the years, the competition has grown into a major continental event, largely dominated by North African giants—particularly Egypt and Tunisia. Al Ahly SC won the inaugural title after defeating Zamalek SC in the final. Beyond continental glory, the stakes are even higher: the winner earns Africa’s sole qualification spot at the Club World Championship. Historically, African clubs have struggled to compete with teams from Europe and South America on the global stage. However, Al Ahly achieved the continent’s best-ever result in 2010, finishing fifth. How have Rwandan clubs performed? Rwanda made its debut in the early 2000s, with APR VC widely regarded as the country’s first representative around 2002. That appearance marked the beginning of Rwanda’s journey in continental volleyball and paved the way for clubs like Gisagara VC and Police VC. The country’s best-ever finish came in 2022, when Gisagara VC secured a historic bronze medal under coach Fidele Nyirimana, defeating Port Douala of Cameroon 3–1. In the most recent edition held in Libya, APR VC came close to another podium finish but ultimately placed fourth after losing the third-place match. Tournament format This year’s competition will adopt an expanded 32-team format. Clubs will be drawn into eight pools of four teams, with each side playing three matches in a round-robin group stage. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the knockout phase, starting from the Round of 16 through to the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final. Teams finishing third and fourth in their groups will not progress, and there will be no full classification matches for positions 17 to 32. Instead, rankings for those teams will be determined based on combined results, in line with official competition regulations. However, selected placement matches at the quarter-final and semi-final stages will still be played to finalize standings. Most decorated club: Al Ahly SC Al Ahly SC remains the most successful club in the tournament’s history, with a record 16 titles. Egyptian clubs overall lead the continent with 22 championship wins. While the final list of participating teams is yet to be confirmed, Rukinzo VC is expected to make its debut—marking a significant milestone for Burundian volleyball on the continental stage.
