Volleyball poster girl Wanja fumes after being dumped
Kenyan volleyball star Janet Wanja says she is “pained” after being “chased away” from the national team. Wanja, a long-serving member of the team, was surprisingly omitted from the squad named by new coach Japheth Munala on Wednesday afternoon.
Another notable omission in Munala’s squad is that of veteran captain Brackides Agala.
Wanja, who doubles up as captain of Kenya Volleyball Federation league champions Kenya Pipeline, took to her official Facebook page to pour out her heart.
“What pains me is the way they (Federation) chase away players who serve them for a long time. Anyway s**t happens,” she said.
“My captain Blackie (Brackides) Agala and I have been dropped from the national team (for) reasons best known to the federation and honestly (I) am not surprised because I saw it coming,” she added.
Agala, who plies her trade in France, has in the meantime remained silent, even as public speculation over their exclusion intensifies.
PLAYERS’ REVOLT
At the same time, Nairobi News has reliably learnt that Wanja and Agala may have been axed for masterminding a revolt in the team in Australia earlier this year, when the team competed at the FIVB Grand Prix.
At the time, the players were discontented with delayed payments of their allowances by KVF. There were also other reports that the first team players wanted to skip the FIVB event in Japan in preference for the All African Games in Congo, Brazzaville, a position that was overruled by KVF.
Another member of the squad also told Nairobi News that she is disturbed by the omission of the two players.
“We now have a sponsor who is bringing in good money to the team, but the federation has axed two senior and very good players from squad. The two players have been fighting for our rights whenever there are delays in payments of allowance. That can be the only logical explanation for their exclusion,” the player said.
The named players will begin preparations on Monday and ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games qualification matches in Cameroon early next year.