President Graça praised the World Cup organisers for an outstanding event
Lausanne, Switzerland, September 24, 2015 - Speaking shortly after USA claimed a first FIVB Volleyball World Cup victory in 30 years, FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça F° praised a well-organised event which kept volleyball fans hooked from start to finish.
“The FIVB Volleyball World Cup was an extremely exciting competition,” said President Graça. “It was difficult to know which teams would qualify for the Olympic Games until the very end.
“In this edition, the thrill of high-level clashes was present until the final match. Poland were ahead of Italy for the entire competition, but lost to them and dropped down the ranking on the last day, which was a surprising outcome.”
Men's World Cup winners USA booked their ticket to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with a 10-1 win-loss record and a 3-1 victory against Argentina on Wednesday. They will be joined by silver medallists Italy, who finished second after defeating world champions Poland in their last match of the competition.
President Graça thanked the organisers for an outstanding event. “Once again, the organisation of the World Cup has been very good,” President Graça said. “I have to thank Japan for its outstanding ability to promote top-level events, and revolutionising volleyball fans’ perception through technology and entertainment. The World Cup has helped to build momentum towards the volleyball tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and announces successes for the sport at the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in 2018 in Japan and at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.”
The quadriennial FIVB Volleyball World Cup has been held in Japan since 1977. This year's edition of the women's competition took place in the cities of Tokyo, Sendai, Nagoya, Matsumoto, Okayama and Komaki from August 22 through to September 6 with winners China and runners-up Serbia qualifying for next year's Olympics, while the men's event was held in Hiroshima, Osaka, Tokyo, Hamamatsu and Toyama from September 8-23.
Men's teams qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games:Hosts Brazil, Men's World Cup winners USA and Men's World Cup runners-up Italy.
Men's qualification process - click here.Women's teams qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games:Hosts Brazil, Women's World Cup winners China and Women's World Cup runners-up Serbia.
Women's qualification process - click here.