National female volleyball coach Harry Opakiripa said Wednesday in Lagos that the team is hopeful of securing a ticket to 2010 World Cup even as they move towards the qualifier with only a foreign-based player.

The Japan 2010 World Cup African Zone III Women Volleyball Qualifiers is scheduled to take place in Lagos from June 3 to June 7. The coach said if the foreign-based players invited for the competition failed to show up, he would use the home-based currently training at the University of Lagos.

"The Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF) invited 22 foreign-based professional players but only one of them, Esther Dusu, who plays in Egypt, has reported," he said.

"I still hope that some of them will arrive in the camp before the championship commences, if they fail to, the home-based are equally good," he said.

"I am optimistic that Nigeria has a team that can secure one of the group's two tickets to the World Cup," he said.

Opakiripa said the camping which would have started two months ago,could not owing to financial constraints.

He lauded the Lagos State government for hosting the championship and for its support.

(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2009)