WOQT MEN'S DRAW MAPS OUT ROAD TO RIO

Tokyo, Japan, March 11, 2016 - Fans can look forward to an exciting tournament after the World Olympic Qualification Tournament draw in Tokyo this morning mapped out the road to Rio for each of the eight teams per gender competing to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.

Korea and Italy will open the Women's World Olympic Qualification Tournament, which will take place from May 14 to 22. The men's event will begin with a match between Iran and Australia on May 28.

Draw results:





The World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Japan also doubles as the qualification tournament for Asian teams. The women’s event from May 14 to 22 will be played by the hosts (Japan), the top three ranked teams in Asia (Korea, Thailand and Kazakhstan), the second and third placed teams from the European Olympic Qualification Tournament (Netherlands and Italy), the second placed team from the South American Olympic Qualification Tournament (Peru) and the second placed team from the NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament (Dominican Republic).

The men’s tournament, which includes the hosts (Japan), the top three ranked teams in Asia (Australia, China and Iran), the second and third placed teams from the European Olympic Qualification Tournament (France and Poland), the second placed team from the South American Olympic Qualification Tournament (Venezuela) and the second placed team from the NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament (Canada) will take place from May 28 to June 5.

In each gender, the best ranked Asian team plus the top three ranked teams will qualify for the Olympics. If an Asian team is ranked among the top three, then the next ranked team will be qualified.

The World Olympic Qualification Tournaments in Japan will decide which four teams join the seven teams per gender which have already qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. 

The teams already qualified for the women’s volleyball tournament at this year’s Olympics are: hosts Brazil, FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Cup winners China and runners-up Serbia, European Olympic Qualification Tournament winners Russia, NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament winners USA, South American Olympic Qualification Tournament winners Argentina and African Olympic Qualification Tournament winners Cameroon. 

A final berth will be decided in Puerto Rico from May 20-22 when Colombia, Algeria and Kenya will take on the local team in a second Women's World Olympic Qualification Tournament.

The teams already qualified for the men’s event are: hosts Brazil, 2015 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup winners USA and runners-up Italy, South American Olympic Qualification Tournament winners Argentina, European Olympic Qualification Tournament winners Russia, NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament winners Cuba and African Olympic Qualification Tournament winners Egypt. 

A final vacancy is decided at a second Men’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament to be held in Mexico City from June 4 to 6, which will see hosts Mexico take on Chile, Algeria and Tunisia.

Ticketing
Tickets for the tournaments in Japan will go on sale on March 12. They will be available from the following outlets: 

Lawson Ticket
http://l-tike.com/oqt-e/

viagogo
Women’s event
http://www.viagogo.jp/Sports-Tickets/Volleyball/Volleyball-Olympic-Qualification-Women-Tickets?pcid=PARTJPSPRTJPVABD05247E1E

Men’s event
http://www.viagogo.jp/Sports-Tickets/Volleyball/Volleyball-Olympic-Qualification-Men-Tickets?pcid=PARTJPSPRTJPVABD05247E1E

Categories and prices:
Arena Reserved: JPY10,000
Tiered Reserved Seating: JPY6,800
Stand General Admission: JPY3,000
Stand General Admission (Under 15): JPY1,000
Tiered Reserved Seating (excluding matches played by Japan): JPY4,000

Click here for more information about the Olympic qualification process. 

The women's tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will take place from August 6 to 20, while the men will play from August 7 to 21. In each gender, the 12 teams will be split into two pools of six. The pools will be played in a round-robin format and the top four teams in each pool will progress to the quarterfinals. Draws will be held for the quarterfinal and semifinal pairings.