DRC V-ball team in for cancelled event

There was a slice of drama on Friday when DR Congo contingent showed up at Uganda Olympic Committee offices for a tournament that had been cancelled more than two weeks ago.

How could a side travel this far for nothing?
“We were never told that the tournament was off. There was no communication at all to us,” an umpire from the Congolese group who preferred not to be named told Daily Monitor.

Fresh from the January 31 elections, the Uganda Volleyball Federation (UVF) opted out of hosting the showpiece as they were overwhelmed and notified the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) of the development.

“We wrote to CAVB asking for the tournament to be postponed,” said UVF president Sadik Nasiwu. “We do not communicate with national federations but CAVB.”

The tournament had been slated for February 18-26 with Cameroon, DR Congo and Tunisia as Uganda’s guests. Cameroon and Tunisia did not turn up – perhaps they received the communication that skipped the Congolese.
 
“How they (DR Congo) did not get the communication is beyond us. We followed the right procedure through CAVB,” said Nasiwu, who questioned the Congolese approach itself.

“You don’t just show up into a country without sending your itinerary at least two days before arrival. We need to know you are around, it is our responsibility to pick you from the airport instead of just appearing and making calls at midnight,” he protested.

The winner of the tournament was to represent Africa in the forthcoming FIVB World U20 championships. 
FIVB will now use CAVB rankings to choose Africa’s representative after they declined UVF’s request.
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