The national volleyball teams have been without a permanent coach since Kenyan Paul Bitok left the duties in 2019, ending his ten-year service at the position. The position has since been vacant as local volleyball governing body (FRVB) struggled to appoint Bitok’s replacement, raising question marks on what is making the appointment pending. There were hopes that the national team had found a new coach in Brazilian Paulo de Tarso when he signed a two-month deal back in August last year to prepare both men and women’s national teams for the African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB) continental championships. The federation was at the time committed to extend de Tarso’s contract depending on how the teams would perform during the tournament but they reportedly failed to raise the resources to keep him. While the position remains vacant, the federation relies on the services of assistant coaches whenever the national teams prepare for a particular tournament. Dominique Ntawangundi earlier this month agreed to assume the assistant coach role for the national team on a one-year deal. However, it remains unclear when the federation will hire a new head coach with the Ministry of Sports yet to decide on the matter. Philbert Mucyo, the FRVB Secretary General, told Times Sport that the federation has approached the Ministry of Sports and asked about hiring a coach. The request, however, remains pending the Ministry’s approval. “We are still following up, but according to what we have discussed, it gives us hope that it will go through. We hope to find a coach who is at the level we want, especially given the fact that next year we have international competitions that Rwanda will participate in,” said Mucyo. De Tarso’s deal fell through since the world volleyball governing body (FIVB) imposed penalties against FRVB as a result of ineligible players during the 2021 African Women’s Volleyball Championship held in Kigali in August last year. The players in question, all originally from South America, are right-attack Aline Siqueira, center Apolinario Caroline Taina, setter Mariana da Silva and left-attack Moreira Bianca Gomes. The quartet did not have proper documents to allow them to feature for the tournament hosts. In a saga that gripped the local sports fraternity, Rwanda was eliminated from the competition and was ordered to pay a fine of 120,000 Swiss Francs (over Rwf 120 million).
