The Japanese coach of Nigeria’s volleyball national teams, Ryan Masajedi has admitted that the country’s male squad had a lot of weaknesses that caused their failure to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Sports247 reports that, although Masajedi also noted some strengths in the squad, he acknowledged that too many loose points stalled their target of qualifying from the 2026 African Men’s Volleyball Nations Championship in Tunisia.
Nigeria’s hopes came crashing after the team lost 3-2 to Morocco in the quarter-finals, despite winning the first set 25-20; as they dropped the second and third sets 25-15 and 25-20 respectively.
The Nigerian side forced a deciding set after winning the fourth set 26-24, but Morocco held their nerve to win the fifth stage 15-12 and book their place in the semi-finals.
Nonetheless, Masajedi praised his players for their fighting spirit throughout the encounter and acknowledged the need for a thorough analysis of the team’s campaign after the competition.
“We did our best and I am proud of the players. We already understand what our weaknesses and strengths are. After this tournament, we’ll look at what went wrong.
“The focus is the next game, and the players will be ready,” Masajedi assured, while speaking with hope ahead of Wednesday’s classification clash with Rwanda.
