With just one month to go before the start of the next African Senior Women's Volleyball Championship, Cameroon has requested and obtained a change of date from the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB).
Change of programme! The 21st African Senior Women's Volleyball Championship will no longer be held from 06 to 18 August 2023.The competition scheduled to take place in Cameroon has been postponed by a few days. It will now be held from 14 to 25 August.The decision to postpone the tournament was taken by the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) at the request of the host country's federation.
According to official sources, the main reason for the postponement is the international calendar.The calendar is said to be "overloaded with numerous competitions on the programme in the coming weeks. In particular, the Women's U19 World Championship, which takes place from 1 to 11 August [in Croatia and Hungary]. In other words, right on the edge of the initial kick-off date for the African Senior Women's Championship," reports Christian Tchapmi, head of communications for the Cameroon Volleyball Federation (Fécavolley).
The 2023 Senior Women's Championship is a qualifier for the next World Championship. To this end, Fécavolley would like to give the international experts and officials expected at the U19 Women's World Championship time to travel to Cameroon without being pressed for time. This reinforces the request for this slight postponement by the country of the Indomitable Lionesses, the three-time reigning African champions. "We don't want the schedule to be stifled," says Christian Tchapmi.
As a result, Fécavolley held talks with Cameroon's highest authorities, in association with the CAVB, which approved the request for postponement, he says. He added: "This slight slippage does not affect the work of the various committees set up by the Minister of Sport".
The unspoken implications of a postponement
However, some observers behind the scenes do not seem convinced by the explanations given. Indeed, Fécavolley is currently facing a leadership crisis, with two federations, two presidents, two organising committees and two senior women's national teams in Cameroon. Some therefore believe that the postponement of the Women's AFCON has extra-sporting motives.
Sports commentator Michel Tadoun believes that the Cameroonian sports authorities are trying to buy time to put a definitive end to the crisis rocking Fécavolley."It would be better for Cameroon to organise a competition on this scale with a federation that enjoys a favourable climate," he says.
