The technical adviser of Nigeria’s men’s senior volleyball national team, Ryan Masajedi has revealed a progressive outline for his squad at this week’s continental championship in Tunisia.
Sports247 reports that, while Masajedi admitted he wants to go beyond the group stage and reach the final, he has charged his players to focus first on their first-round opponents, Chad and Algeria.
He noted ahead of their first game in Group C of the competition, which is officially tagged the 2026 African Men’s Volleyball Nations Championship, that his players will take it one game at a time.
The championship is also serving as qualifiers for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and Masajedi stressed that the team’s first target is to secure qualification from the group stage.
The Japanese tactician also warned his team against underrating any opponent, as every country competing at the championship will be aiming to make a statement.
“The players understand what is at stake, and we’ll approach each game as it comes. The first task before us is to scale through the group stage and then wait for our opponent in the next round.
“We’ll not underrate any team in our group because they are equally at the championship to make a statement,” said Masajedi, who also urged Nigerians to believe in the team and pray for their success in Tunisia.
Sports247 recalls that Nigeria finished seventh at the 2021 African Men’s Volleyball Nations Championship in Rwanda after defeating DR Congo 3-0 (25-10, 25-20, 25-22) in a classification game, but missed the 2023 edition.
