Algeria Hosts Women’s Olympic Volleyball Qualifying Tournament

With competing in the 2012 London Olympic Games as their ultimate goal, the Algerian women’s volleyball team is sure to be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming African Olympic Qualification Tournament set to take place from 27 January through to 5 February in the Algerian city of Blida. The winners of the African Olympic Qualification Tournament will compete against teams from the United States, Italy and China that qualified during the 2011 FIVB Women’s World Cup held in Japan late last year. Qualifying tournaments will also take place in Europe, Asia, North America and South America.

Athletes and spectators from all around the world will be travelling to London for the Olympic Games later this year, and the Algerian team will be doing all in its power to be among the competitors. The team competed in the African Women’s Championship in August last year, followed by the FIVB World Cup in November and an event hosted by Qatar in December. As the host country for the qualifying event, the Algerian team has the advantage of playing on their home ground where they will enjoy the support of their fellow Algerians.

As part of the team’s extensive training program, the Algerian Volleyball Federation (FAVB) enlisted the expertise of Mathieu Arnaud in evaluating the team chosen to compete in the qualifying event. This top French volleyball trainer spent time with the team in December, putting players through a variety of physical tests designed to assess the skill and fitness levels of each team member, and making recommendations for improvement. While in Algeria, Arnaud delivered a lecture at the Ecole Nationale Superieure en Science et Technology du Sport based in Algiers, offering his experience and knowledge of sport training to benefit volleyball trainers and athletes, as well as for other sports.

Volleyball first featured on the Olympic Games program when Tokyo hosted the iconic event in 1964. Since then, it has been a popular feature of the games, which are held every four years. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Brazil claimed a gold medal in the Women’s Volleyball event, having beaten the United States in the final. Sports minded Algerians will no doubt be cheering their team on to victory during the African Olympic Qualification Tournament in Blida, with the hope of having the opportunity to cheer them on at the 2012 London Olympics.