The new format allowed Mexico, Tunisia, Belgium, Slovakia and Turkey to play in the World League for the first time in 2014
Lausanne, Switzerland, July 18, 2014 - The 2015
FIVB Volleyball World League competition formula was confirmed at the World
League Council meeting in Florence, Italy on Friday, where the Group 1 Finals
are taking place through to Sunday.
Due to the success of this year’s competition, the ground breaking changes made
to the competition ahead of the 2014 edition of the FIVB Volleyball World
League – when the FIVB’s premier annual men’s volleyball event expanded from 18
countries to 28 for the first time ever – have been retained for the year ahead
with seven pools of four teams. Pool A will include Italy, Brazil, Serbia and
Australia, while Pool B will see Russia take on USA, Poland and Iran.
“The 2014 edition of the FIVB Volleyball World League has been the best ever,
bringing the competition to a bigger and increasingly enthusiastic audience,“
FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça F° said. “The new formula has produced a very
tight and exciting competition, which is always an important component of being
able to promote the sport successfully.“
FIVB Sports events Council President Mr Aleksandar Boricic said: “The World
League’s new formula, including 28 teams and split into three groups, has been
a big success. The competition has attracted 50% more spectators and record
attendances at eight matches, including a spectacular match outdoors in Rome
which saw 11,000 spectators gather at the Foro Italico to see hosts Italy take
on Poland in Pool A. The FIVB continues to work on different ways of taking the
sports of volleyball and beach volleyball to new levels, and will continue to
explore new solutions to achieve these goals.“
Group 1 Pools
Pool A Pool B
ITA (3) RUS (2)
BRA (1) USA (4)
SRB (9) POL (5)
AUS (14) IRI (12)
() Numbers in brackets denotes world ranking
Pool A features two of the most successful countries in the 25-year history of
the World League with world No. 1 and nine-time champions Brazil along with
eight-time winners Italy, Serbia and Australia, who replace Bulgaria after
winning Group 2. In Pool B are 2013 champions Russia, 2012 champions Poland,
2012 silver medalists USA, and rapidly improving Iran.
The makeup of the remaining five pools will be confirmed in the near future.
During the Intercontinental Round, Pools A to E will play according to a home
and away system: six matches home and six away.
Pools A and B make up Group 1 – six teams will play the Group 1 Finals for the
World League title.
Group 2 will contain Pools C, D, E and F. The Finals will be composed of four
teams. The Group 2 Finals winner will qualify for the Group 1 Finals.
Finally, Pools F and G make up Group 3. Eight teams will compete in a round
robin system with one host country per tournament, two rounds and six matches
per team, and a Finals with four teams.
The World League Intercontinental Round will start on the weekend of June 5 to
7 with Group 1 involving six weeks of action before a rest weekend and then the
Finals from July 22-26. Group 2 will complete its Finals from July 15-19, while
Group 3's two weeks of pool play and another week of Finals will take place
from June 19 to July 5.Provisional
Intercontinental Round calendar
Weekends |
Pools A & B |
Pools C, D & E |
Pools F & G |
|
|
|
|
June 5-7 |
Round 1 |
Round 1 |
|
June 12-14 |
Round 2 |
Round 2 |
|
June 19-21 |
Round 3 |
Round 3 |
Round 1 |
June 26-28 |
Round 4 |
Round 4 |
Round 2 |
July 3-5 |
Round 5 |
Round 5 |
Final Four |
July 10-12 |
Round 6 |
Round 6 |
|
July 17-19 |
Rest week |
Final Four |
|
July 22-26 |
Final Six |
|
|
This year the World League featured 28 teams
for the first time having had 18 teams in 2013 and 16 teams from 2001-2003 and
2006-2012. The World League featured eight teams in its inaugural year in 1990,
10 in 1991 and then 12 from 1992-2000 and 2004-05.