Nigeria’s U-19 female beach volleyball team wins gold in Morocco

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Nigeria’s U19 female beach volleyball team has claimed the 2024 African U19 Girls Beach Volleyball Nations Championship title, taking Africa by storm.

The dynamic duo of Esther Mbah and Pamela Bawa secured the gold medal on Thursday, June 27, in Morocco, defeating the host nation 2-0 (21-8, 21-8) in a decisive final held at Martil Beach.

The Nigerian team dominated the group stage, easily defeating both Congo DR (2-0) and Morocco Team B (2-0).

Captain Esther Mbah expressed her excitement and gratitude after the championship win, which also secured a coveted spot at the 2024 FIVB U19 Beach Volleyball World Championship in China, scheduled for August 27 to September 1.

“All glory to God for allowing us to represent the country at the U19 African Beach Volleyball Nations Championship. Winning the gold medal for Nigeria after the African Games means a lot to me; we fought hard and got the desired results. Preparations for the World Championship will begin in earnest; the annual Beach Tour in Nigeria will help us fine-tune some of our lapses and our coaches have the technical abilities to help us grow,” Mbah said.

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Mbah also expressed her gratitude to the Nigeria Volleyball Federation, led by Engineer Musa Nimrod, for their unwavering support in making this historic achievement possible.

“I want to use this opportunity to thank the Nigeria Volleyball Federation led by Engineer Musa Nimrod for the support given to us before and during the Championship. My coaches, senior players, friends, family, and well-wishers have been praying for the success of the team; my prayer is that God will continue to protect us all,” she added.

Reflecting on the team’s journey, Mbah also spoke about the painful defeat in the final of the qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. “It was a painful defeat in the final of the qualifiers. We led in the first set of the game but the Egyptians were more experienced, leveled up, and got the sole ticket to the Olympic Games,” she remarked.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s men’s team also had a successful outing, winning a bronze medal at the just-concluded 2024 African U19 Boys Beach Volleyball Nations Championship in Cote d’Ivoire. The duo of Victor Eze and Ndifrike George defeated Congo 2-0 (21-11, 21-13) in the men’s third-place match.