Rwanda has called off the African Volleyball Cup winners’ Cup tournament which was due to be held in Kigali from December 10-21. The decision was reached at during the November 7 meeting that was attended by, among others, Sports Minister Joseph Habineza, Secretary General Jean Pierre Karabaranga as well as the national volleyball federation boss, Philibert Mutwarasibo. According to Gertrude Kubwimana, FRVB Executive Secretary, Rwanda called off the event after failure to get an official word from the Confederation of African volleyball (CAVB) confirming Rwanda as hosts. “They (CAVB) did not give us the dates of the event on time neither did they send us an official letter confirming Rwanda as hosts. “They even failed in their promise to make a fact-finding visit aimed at inspecting the infrastructure. All that and more made our preparations nearly impossible,” said Kubwimana. CAVB verbally informed Rwanda on September 8 that they had been give the right to host this year’s event. And during the October 25-27 Nairobi meeting the continental body, again verbally set the dates on which they hoped the event would be held. Hosting such a high magnitude event was what the country would wish for and on learning that it would be held here, Mijespoc set aside Frw70 millions for the event. However, CAVB’s failure to make things formal, the national volleyball federation didn’t bother seeking sponsorship to supplement the ministry’s contribution. CAVB had earlier been scheduled to be held in Mauritius before they changed and awarded it to Rwanda. Rwanda last hosted a major volleyball competition five year ago in the form of Zone IV African championship qualifiers. Meanwhile, the national cup holders, the National University of Rwanda (UNR) have confirmed that they would continue with their preparation while waiting for a new venue to be announced.Ends
