Dylan Bettencourt
The Women’s Volleyball African Nations Championship disqualified Rwanda from the tournament as they were accused of using four Brazilian players who were not eligible.
The Rwandan Ministry of Sport confirmed the ban on 19 September in a statement that also said the ministry will take over the management of the tournament as the hosts would no longer be participating.
Rwanda were due to face Senegal in their final Group A fixture on 16 September but the Nigerian volleyball team filed a complaint because of their players and the African Volleyball Federation accepted the complaint.
Rwanda secured a spot in the semi-finals but forfeited all their wins in the tournament and they lose out on the chance to win the tournament on home soil.
All four of the individuals were making their debut for the Rwandan volleyball team.
The African Volleyball Confederation said they were in favour of suspending the players in question and allowing Rwanda to continue in the tournament, but this decision was not accepted.
The rules of the tournament state that the players’ Federation of Origin is the organisation that should provide the player with a national licence or register the player with their federation, neither of which was done.
The rules also indicate that any player for the national team must be registered to play for a club or a volleyball entity that is registered with the nation’s federation, a rule the Rwandan national team did not obey.
The federation and players involved have been suspended for not obeying these rules.
Image source: @Reutir
