The National Olympic Committee of Kenyan (NOC-K) has awarded Malkia Strikers, the Kenya women volleyball team US $50,000 scholarship to prepare and qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games.
The NOC-K Secretary General John Ogola said the funds which have been sourced from the Olympic Solidarity will be spread from now till 2028 before the games which will be hosted in Los Angeles, USA.
“The Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) will utilise the funds by picking on key championships that will be pivotal in making Malkia Strikers book a ticket to the USA for the Olympics,” said Ogola.
The scholarship was awarded to Malkia Strikers by NOC-K officials in a ceremony at the Nyayo National Stadium on Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 in Nairobi.
Ogola said several Kenyan sports federations had submitted their applications to the Olympic Solidarity for the scholarship where the national women’s volleyball team succeeded.
“The Olympic Solidarity granted Malkia Strikers the scholarship basing on their past performances and achievement,” said the Secretary General.
He said that the scholarship is usually awarded by the Olympic Solidarity to teams that stand a higher chance of qualifying for the Olympics,” said the Secretary.
The aim of Olympic Solidarity is to provide assistance to all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) for athlete development programmes, in particular those with the greatest need for it.
Ogola emphasized on early preparations hence the award of the scholarship this early saying it will go a long way in enhancing the women’s volleyball team qualification.
The KVF vice president Paul Bitok expressed gratitude to NOC-K for the scholarship saying it will enable the women’s national team to qualify for the games in Los Angeles.
Bitok said that to qualify they need adequate funds for logistics and the scholarship has come in handy and at the right time for their preparations.
“We have been offered a great opportunity of qualifying for the Olympics. At the moment we only need 54 points to qualify. We shall use the funds in taking part in major events to boost our points tally,” said Bitok.
Kenya ranked 21st in the world is number one in the African rankings with 158 points followed by Cameroon (76 points) in second place as Egypt (46 points) is third while Algeria has 28 points.
Bitok said the first major event that Malkia Strikers is targeting is the Africa Cup of Nations to be staged on August 23rd-September 3rd, 2026 in Nairobi