Rio de Janeiro - July 14 to 19
Group 1 of the FIVB Volleyball World League 2015 will culminate in Rio de Janeiro following six weekends of Intercontinental Round matches.
The top two teams from Pool A and B, hosts and nine-time winners Brazil and the winner from the Final Four from Group 2 (which will be held in Bulgaria from July 10 to 11) will meet at the Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, with the six teams all hoping to finish the 26th edition of the tournament on the top step of the podium.
The Group 1 Finals will serve as a test event for the volleyball competition at the Olympic Games in 2016, which will be held at the same venue.
Host Country: Brazil
Brazil is no stranger to the FIVB World League having hosted the Finals of the tournament four times in the past with Rio de Janeiro hosting twice in 1995 and 2008, Sao Paulo in 1993 and Belo Horizonte in 2002. The national team is also one of the most successful in the tournament with nine FIVB Volleyball World League titles, the last coming in 2010. Their success has crossed over to other tournaments also, having captured three FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championships in a row in 2002, 2006 and 2010, winning silver at the last edition in 2014. They were also Olympic gold medallists at Barcelona 1992 and Athens 2004, adding silver to their long list of achievements at Beijing 2008 and London 2012. They are the current world No.1 and finished last year’s edition of the FIVB World League with a silver medal, losing to USA in the final.
Host City: Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil and the third largest metropolis in the whole of South America. This is not the first time the city will host the FIVB World League Finals having first welcomed the tournament in 1995, when Italy broke Brazilian hearts in the gold medal match to clinch the crown. The USA then claimed their first title when Rio hosted the Finals for a second time in 2008, so the home fans will be hoping it will be third time lucky in 2015.
Venue: Maracanãzinho Arena
The Maracanãzinho is a modern indoor arena located in Maracanã neighbourhood, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is used mostly for volleyball and will host the competition at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. It has a capacity of 11,800 and first opened its doors in 1954. It stands next to the Maracanã Stadium.