NAKHON RATCHASIMA READY TO HOST 22ND ASIAN SENIOR WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP DURING AUG 30-SEPT 6 HOME

Electrifying moments await ardent volleyball enthusiasts when the 22nd Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship has already been confirmed to burst into action-packed encounters between August 30 and September 6 at 5,000-seater Chartchai Hall and The Mall Korat’s MCC Hall in Nakhon Ratchasima, a large province on the northeastern plateau with a distance of 259km from Bangkok and acts as a gateway to other provinces in the northeast.

The eight-day topflight championship will be the fourth time to be organized by Nakhon Ratchasima after their remarkable successes in hosting the 11th Championship in 2001, followed by the 14th and 17th editions in 2007 and 2013 respectively. However, in terms of the host country, Thailand has already organized the championship for five times including the 1991 edition in Bangkok and 1995 in Chiang Mai. The 22nd championship in Nakhon Ratchasima will be, therefore, the overall 6 times of Thailand to play host to the prestigious competition.

The 22nd Asian Senior Women’s Championship in Nakhon Ratchasima has attracted a total of 14 teams to vie for top honor and accumulated points for FIVB World Rankings.

Hosts and world No.15 Thailand, which captured the Asian title twice in 2009 and 2013, are in Pool A together with Mongolia, which finished 11th in their last appearance at the 2015 edition in China, and world No.51 Australia, while Pool B consists of world No.8 Japan, defending and consecutive two-time Asian champions, world No.63 India and Iran, current world No.61.

World No.35 Korea, which have yet won the Asian titles to secure second spot for seven times, will seek their unprecedented title in Nakhon Ratchasima to compete in Pool C with world No.50 Chinese Taipei, world No.64 Uzbekistan and AVC Challenge Cup champions Vietnam, current world No.47

Formidable China, world No.6, former 13-time Asian champions and historic silver medallists at the recent VNL, are in Pool D, with Hong Kong China, Kazakhstan and Philippines joining the fray.

Participating teams will compete in the pool round-robin preliminaries, with only top two teams from each pool advancing to the Top 8, split into Pool E (A1, A2, C1, C2) and Pool F (B1, B2, D1, D2). Lower-ranked sides will be relegated to Classification Round for 9th-14th places, with teams finishing 3rd in Pool A and 3rd, 4th places in Pool C contesting Pool G and those finishing 3rd in Pool B and 3rd, 4th places in Pool D competing in Pool H.

  

In the Round of Top 8, well-qualified teams will be pitted in the pool round-robin competition once again, with top two teams from Pool E and Pool F contesting the cross semifinals. The two winning teams will next face off in the final showdown on September 6, while the losers will fight it out in the third-place playoff clash for bronze medal.

Teams From Indonesia, Thailand Crowned In Zonal Events of Southeast Asian Men’s Volleyball League

Southeast Asian Men’s Volleyball League

The second leg of the inaugural Southeast Asian Men’s Volleyball League took place in Santa Rosa, Philippines from 28 to 30 July, and, for the second time, Indonesia achieved a clean sweep of the round-robin tournament to claim their second title. The Indonesian men’s national volleyball team has so far been allocated a total of CHF 27,000 of FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support.

The Indonesians started with a 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-14, 25-23) win over Vietnam, followed up with a straight-set 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-20) victory over hosts Philippines and finished their campaign with a nail-biting 3-2 (25-27, 20-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-9) victory (pictured in the main photo; credits: asianvolleyball.net) over Thailand. Vietnam finished runners-up after five-set wins over Thailand and the Philippines, while Thailand, another team supported by Volleyball Empowerment, completed the podium with bronze, despite competing with their second squad due to the first team participating in the Volleyball Challenger Cup.

Indonesia’s Halim Farhan was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the three-day tournament. Setter Dinh Van Duy (Vietnam), opposite Rotter (Philippines), outside hitters Thanomnoi Jakkrit (Thailand) and Arabi Boy Arnes (Indonesia), middle blockers Kurniawan Hendra (Indonesia) and Truong The Khai (Vietnam), and libero Prasojo Prasojo (Indonesia) were named on the Dream Team.

The previous week, Indonesia were even more convincing at home, in Jakarta, where they lost only a set (to Thailand) in the three matches played. Thailand finished second after sweeping their games against third-placed Vietnam and fourth-placed Philippines.

Southeast Asian Women’s Volleyball League

Thailand topped the podium at the first leg of the women’s SEA V. League, held last week in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam. Hosts Vietnam; supported by Volleyball Empowerment through the 2023 Knowledge Transfer program, hiring a physiotherapist to work with the team, and Thailand defeated the other two teams on the first two competition days and met face-to-face in the deciding match on Sunday. After a hard-fought 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 28-26, 25-17) turnaround, the Thais snatched the inaugural title, leaving Vietnam with the silver, while the bronze medals went to Indonesia.

Thai star Kongyot Ajcharaporn took two individual awards, for MVP and for a Dream Team outside hitter. The other Dream Team nominations went to setter Doan Thi Lam Oanh (Vietnam), opposite Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh (Vietnam), outside Tran Thi Thanh Thuy (Vietnam), middle Siti Nur Fadhilah Wilda (Indonesia) and Nuekjang Thatdao (Thailand), and libero Pannoy Piyanut (Thailand).

The SEA V. League (formerly known as ASEAN Grand Prix) is a series of international volleyball tournaments in Southeast Asia featuring the men’s and the women’s national teams from Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. The second women’s tournament is set to take place this week, from 11 to 13 August, in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Volleyball World Launches Host City Bidding Process For FIVB Men’s And Women’s Volleyball World Championships In 2025 And 2027

In response to growing interest from potential hosts and the increasing value of the FIVB World Championships, Volleyball World has joined forces with The Sports Consultancy to run a structured bidding process for the 2025 and 2027 editions of the events. The Sports Consultancy is globally recognized as leader in host city procurement for a range of major sporting and entertainment properties.

Volleyball World with the support of The Sports Consultancy have developed an innovative and collaborative bidding process to find the next hosts for these prestigious events. The bidding process was officially launched on 1 August 2023, with the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) inviting all 222 National Federations to express their interest in hosting an event. The Sports Consultancy will also be inviting event organisers and host cities to express interest. Interested parties can submit their expression of interest by 31 August 2023 here.   

The FIVB Volleyball World Championships, held from August to October, represent the pinnacle of international volleyball, attracting 32 nations to compete for the ultimate glory over a thrilling 17-day period.

With their broad appeal, the World Championships have delivered a host city impact of up to 150million EUR for previous hosts, including: the Netherlands and Poland, Japan, Italy, Germany and Slovenia. Hosting the World Championships resulted in an influx of domestic and international visitors who immersed themselves in the vibrancy of the local culture, enabling these cities to share their unique experiences with a global audience.

 Volleyball World CEO Finn Taylor said:

“We are excited to be working alongside The Sports Consultancy to find dedicated and passionate host cities for the upcoming editions of the FIVB World Championships. The Championships deliver countless economic and social benefits, offering a significant return on investment to the host city.

"Through our partnership with The Sports Consultancy, we have full confidence in discovering passionate and dedicated host cities that will take the Championships to new heights.”

Robert Datnow, Co-Founder and Managing Director, The Sports Consultancy added:

“We are delighted to be continuing our work with Volleyball World to create a range of competitive procurement processes, highlighting the many public and private sector impacts and returns on investment, to secure world-renowned hosts for the FIVB World Championships both men and women’s in 2025 and 2027.

“We are pleased to bring The Sports Consultancy’s full and long experience of articulating the accepted significant economic, destination marketing and societal value of hosting these Championships and of successfully securing over 160 iconic hosts for some of the world’s best-known events, over the past 17 years.”

Men’s and Women's FIVB Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifier: Groups, venues, schedule and key dates to watch live action

 

Olympic champions France drew world champions Italy in their group for the men's FIVB Road to Paris Olympic Volleyball Qualifier at the Drawing of Lots ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday (17 March).

The men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament (OQT) comprises of three pools of eight teams, and will take place from 30 September to 8 October 2023 in Brazil, China, and Japan.

Twelve teams will compete for the gold medal at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, including automatic qualifiers and hosts France.

The top two finishers in each pool for the qualifier will earn one of six automatic qualification berths for Paris 2024, and the five remaining qualification spots will be filled by the top five nations not yet qualified in the FIVB World Rankings at the end of the preliminary phase of the Volleyball Nations League 2024.

Below, we take a look at the Road to Paris Olympic Qualifier full group draw, and how to watch the action live.

Pool A (in Brazil) - Brazil, Italy, Iran, Cuba, Ukraine, Germany, Czechia, Qatar

Group B (in Japan) - Japan, USA, Slovenia, Serbia, Türkiye, Tunisia, Egypt, Finland

Group C (in China) - People's Republic of China, Poland, Argentina, Netherlands, Canada, Mexico, Belgium, Bulgaria.

Each of the three Olympic Qualifying Tournament pools take place from 30 September to 8 October 2023.

A full schedule will be confirmed ahead of the tournament.

The OQT for women takes place from 16-24 September 2023.

Women's Olympic champions the USA will play against powerhouse Italy in the group stages of the women's FIVB Road to Paris Olympic Volleyball Qualifier at the Drawing of Lots ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday (17 March).

The women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament (OQT) comprises of three pools of eight teams, taking place from 16-24 September 2023 in the People's Republic of China, Japan, and Poland.

The United States and Italy will also take on the likes of Germany, Thailand, and Colombia in their group in Poland.

World champions Serbia will head to the People's Republic of China for their group matches, while Brazil have been drawn to play in the Japan-based group.

Twelve teams will compete for the gold medal at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, including automatic qualifiers and hosts France.

The top two finishers in each pool for the qualifier will earn one of six automatic qualification berths, and the five remaining qualification spots will be filled by the top five nations not yet qualified in the FIVB World Rankings at the end of the preliminary phase of the Volleyball Nations League 2024.

Below, we take a look at the Road to Paris Olympic Qualifier full group draw, and the host venues.

Women’s FIVB Road to Paris 2024 Olympic Volleyball Qualifier - Groups

Pool A (in China) - People's Republic of China, Serbia, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Canada, Czechia, Mexico, Ukraine 

Pool B (in Japan) - Japan, Brazil, Türkiye, Belgium, Bulgaria, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Peru

Pool C (in Poland) - Poland, Italy, USA, Germany, Thailand, Colombia, Republic of Korea, Slovenia

Women’s FIVB Road to Paris 2024 Olympic Volleyball Qualifier - Schedule and key dates

Each of the three Olympic Qualifying Tournament pools take place from 16-24 September 2023.

A full schedule will be confirmed ahead of the tournament.

The OQT for men takes place from 20 September to 8 October 2023.