LAUSANNE, Switzerland, February 8, 2019 - The FIVB Sports Events
Council met this week to discuss the volleyball calendar in the run
up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
In the qualification tournaments toward Tokyo 2020, USA, Canada,
Puerto Rico and Mexico will field teams in both genders while
Dominican Republic will be represented in the women's tournament
and Cuba in the men's event.
After the announcement of the host nations for Olympic
volleyball qualification events last month, the Council discussed
the latest plans for each event. In total, twelve Olympic
volleyball qualification events will take place in August 2019,
with the winners of each intercontinental pool group joining hosts
Japan. The Olympic qualification will continue in January 2020 when
five Continental Confederation events will determine the remaining
places.
Members of the Council were joined by presidents of the
Continental Confederations as they looked at a number of key events
scheduled to take place in the next 18 months, including the 2019
Volleyball Nations League and the 2019 FIVB Volleyball World
Cup.
The 2019 VNL will introduce a new challenge request, determining
whether there has been four touches in one sequence. The FIVB also
introduces Challenge Referees at every pool event. Each referee
will attend an FIVB-led webinar to ensure the high standards of
officiating are maintained.
Another key item on the agenda was the current World Ranking
system and possible amendments, as well as the importance of
streamlining the FIVB Calendar to ensure athletes feel supported
and empowered to perform at their best.
The delegation also looked ahead to the 2022 FIVB Volleyball World
Championships, where Russia will host the men's event while the
Netherlands and Poland will jointly hold the women's edition. The
Council finalized plans for the qualification process and the
competition format, due to be announced later this year following
approval from the FIVB Board of Administration.
The FIVB continues its Commission meetings on 11 February 2019,
when the Beach Volleyball Commission meet in Lausanne.