Colombia will be hoping to pick up a World Cup ticket
Lausanne, Switzerland, May 16, 2015 – Before a packed auditorium of sports journalists Team Elite Volleyball Colombia was officially unveiled ahead of South American qualifiers against Argentina, Chile and Venezuela for two tickets to the 2015 FIVB Men’s World Cup.
The event was presided over by the President of the Colombian Federation of Volleyball, Ing. Carlos Alberto Grisales; Secretary of Sports and Recreation Cali, Claudia Fernanda Rojas; and President of the League of Volleyball del Valle, Andrés Mauricio Martinez.
Grisales highlighted the support of the Municipality of Santiago de Cali for hosting the competition.
“I am happy to make mention of the Mayor of Cali who has given his full backing to this event that will start next Tuesday,” he said. “Cali supported us when we needed it.”
Rojas added that the city was proud to act as hosts for such an important event.
"We are very happy to once again to put on a major sports event,” she stated. “It is a gift to the city and its people who relish tournaments like this.”
Colombia coach Eliseo Ramos Rivas was conservative about the possibility of Colombia picking up one of the two berths to the 2015 World Cup in Tokyo.
“We have to be very clear, we will be fighting against Venezuela and Chile because I think Argentina is on another level,” he admitted. “We will try to secure qualification in spite of the fact that the players haven’t had enough training and competition. But they have talent and will give everything to bring success to Colombia.”