The Ministry of Sports has given the greenlight to the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF) to host the 2021 African Nations Girls U18 Volleyball Championship.

The tournament is scheduled for the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja from 29 January to 7 February, 2021.

Chairman Media and Publicity NVBF, Kehinde Lamidi announced the ministry’s approval on Wednesday.

The ministry in a letter signed by the permanent secretary, Gabriel Aduda, however, informed the NVBF to seek out sponsorship opportunities to host the continental tournament as the ministry cannot afford to finance the competition due to a dearth of funds.

In order to prepare Nigeria’s national team for the continental championship, the federation is organising open trials for players inside the age bracket at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna between 10 and 13 December, 2020 to select players that will be invited to the national camp.

The NVBF says preparations are ongoing to ensure a successful hosting of the tournament with special reference to the strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols.

President of the NVBF, Musa Nimrod said the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) is confident in Nigeria’s capacity to always raise the bar in organising continental championships hence its resolve to award the hosting right to the country.

Nimrod also expressed optimism that Nigeria’s women’s team will perform creditably at the tournament next year.