Volleyball: Nigerian Navy Honours CNS Spikers

Volleyball: Nigerian Navy Honours CNS Spikers

By Niyi Busari

The Nigerian Navy on Friday hosted the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Spikers male and female teams who represented Nigeria in the African Club Volleyball Championship in Tunisia, this follows their impressive performance at the competition, BSNSports.com.ng writes.

At the event which holds at Naval Headquarters in Abuja, CFR Adamu was ably represented by the Chief of Quality and Plans, as the players of the CNS Strikers Volleyball Cub were in attendance.

The Team Leader and Coordinator of the team highlighted the gains of the volleyball team, since the coming of the  Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo.

"It could be recalled that when the Chief of Naval Staff came on board, he promised to reposition sports in the Nigerian Navy.

"According to his vision, in the process, he approached the reconstitution of the team - which was renamed the CNS Strikers Volleyball Club. 

"And improve participation in the National League and other international volleyball events.

"It is gratifying to note the relentless support of the Chief of Naval Staff. I am very proud to say the team has achieved a lot in the last 16 months.

"The male team first won the inaugural championship in Kontagora in March 2022, organized by the Nigerian Volleyball Federation.

"The Junior team came second in the tournament comprising about 37 teams in Nigeria. (21 male, and 16 female teams).

"The team also produced the most valuable player in the male category in the tournament.

"In May 2022, the female team based on performance, represented the Nigerian Volleyball Federation at the African Club Women Volleyball Championship in Tunisia.

The team, despite their first appearance in the national competition, was able to perform well against reputable teams highly rated from Ethiopia and Cote D'Ivoire, before losing to the hosts.

"However, the championship opened our eyes to lots of technicalities, experiences, and exposure for the team.

"And it is worth noting that the CNS despite the tight schedule, made out time to ginger the team via a visual conference call. And that greatly inspired the players.

"Also it's on record that the CNS Strikers have been able to break the jinx of being selected to represent Nigeria after 38 years, under the able leadership of the present Chief of Naval Staff.

"It is also gratifying to mention that the strikers participated in the last year's National volleyball division 1 and 2 leagues, which of course we won, coming out tops in both leagues. 

"For the Male, we gained promotion from Division 2 to Division 1, while for the female, from Division 1 to the premier league for the 2023 season.

"The team was also able to set a Federation record by winning 7 individual awards within a single league season.

That's because no team has ever won more than 5 in a single season. 

"Both the male and female teams were also nominated to represent Nigeria in the just concluded African Club Championship in Tunisia.

"While the female team got to the quarterfinals of this year's championship, and emerged 7th position among the top teams in Africa, the Male team also emerged 9th in Africa. 

The female team was able to defeat top teams like Seychelles, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast, while the male team was able to defeat some other highly rated teams like Mauritius, Ethiopia, and Burundi. 

"Additionally, about 9 players comprising 4 males and 5 females from our team have been invited to the national team at various times, and have featured for different categories, like U-19, U-21, plus the senior national team.

"Many players have become handcrafted to the Nigerian Navy because of the very high standard displayed by the Chief of Naval Staff Volleyball Club. Hence the belief in an excellent career progression in the Nigerian Navy. 

I make bold to say that some of the players here present, were recently recruited into the Nigerian Navy, while others are presently undergoing training. Some have applied to join Academy.

"These laudable achievements have added much-needed value to National Youth development, and by extension, our national security.

"I also make bold to say that these achievements recorded above wouldn't have been possible without the very strong and unwavering support of the Chief of Naval staff to the team.

"These have greatly motivated the team because most of the sponsorship for these Championships was orchestrated by the CNS.

"We are indeed very proud to say that the CNS Strikers volleyball football club as of today is the new bride of the Nigeria Youth Volleyball Federation.

"The CNS Strikers Volleyball Club has also rendered a spot at both regional and Continental levels as captured by the Confederation of Africa Volleyball.

"We also want to thank the Nigerian Volleyball Federation, for giving us the platform to showcase the talent we possess.

"And I must say that the team is ready, to maintain its unbeaten records in this year's national volleyball league.

"Also we are psychologically and mentally prepared to represent Nigeria in any of the International tournaments."