PAUL Bitok will stand down as head coach of the national volleyball team in June after deciding not to renew his contract, Times Sport has learned. The 48-year-old was appointed in 2010 as head coach of the men’s senior team, but he also handled other national teams at different levels in different regional and international competitions, including the just-concluded Beach Volleyball Africa Cup of Nations in Abuja, Nigeria. The Kenyan tactician guided both the men and women’s teams to qualifying for this year’s World Championships due in Germany this summer after reaching the last four in both categories. Rwanda finished second in male, and third in women’s category. At the week-long continental showpiece, Rwanda was the only country to qualify both teams to the world’s biggest beach volleyball meet, which runs from June 28 to July 7 in Hamburg. Although he has declined to disclose any detail about his soon-coming departure, Bitok who helped Rwanda to finish fourth at the 2011 (Mozambique) and 2015 (Congo Brazzaville) All-Africa games, signaled on social media that he would be leaving the country at the end of his current contract with the Ministry of Sports and Culture. On his official Facebook page, Bitok posted: “End of 10 Year’s Era in Rwanda.” Speaking to Times Sport on Sunday, the former Kenya international did not confirm nor deny bringing to an end his ten-year stint with the national volleyball teams, insisting that “I am going to make everything public in a few weeks.” editor@newtimesrwanda.com
