Nigeria’s U-19 volleyball team coach Sani Mohammed has released a final 12-man list for the 2021 FIVB U-19 Boys World Championship.
The tournament will take place in Iran from August 24 to September 4, 2021 and Nigeria is grouped with Iran, Poland and Guatemala.
The team will be captained by Kano Pillars player, Michael Abari and assisted by Jerry Kinze who plays for Nasa Thunder VC. Regulars like OFFA VC’s Abdulquadr iJaiyeola, COAS Spikers’ Vincent Mathias and NSCDC’s Ozokoye Pascal also made the list.
Coach Mohammed revealed that the team’s objective is to surpass their previous 14th position at the 2019 World Championship in Tunisia.
“The boys are ready to make Nigeria proud at the FIVB World Championship. At the last World Championship, Nigeria finished 14th which is encouraging. This time around, we want to improve our performance.
“It is our prayer that the boys have an injury-free tournament, play well and eventually get clubs to sign them after the championship.”
To finalise their preparations, the team played warm-up games against Kaduna and Abuja selected teams. They will depart the country on Thursday from the NnamdiAzikiwe Airport, Abuja.
The Complete List
Jerry Kinze (Nasa Thunder VC), Vincent Mathias (COAS Spikers), AbdulquadriJaiyeola (OFFA VC), QuadriOgunboyejo (Legacy), OyewoleOyedepo (OFFA VC), Timothy Ogwulumba (Sunshine Spikers), Paul Ogwulumba (Sunshine Spikers), Farouk Lucky (Kano Pillars), Michael Abari (Kano Pillars), Michael Digil (Kada Emeralds), Mathias Peter (Kada Emeralds) and Ozokoye Pascal (Plateau Rocks).