CEV announces the venue of women’s Final Four of the Champions League – Volleyball news
Following the completion of the enthralling quarter-final stage of 2012 CEV Women’s Champions League, the European Volleyball Governing Body has disclosed the venue of the crucial Final Four of the tournament.
Azerbaijan’s capital city, Baku has been selected as the host of the final phase of the CEV Champions League.
The final four of the CEV Women’s Champions League will take place from March 24 to 25, while the “Heydar Aliyev” Sports and Concert Complex will set up the field of play. Heydar Aliyev is the largest sports hall in Azerbaijan and it has hosted some of influential
international events.
The ‘final four’ stage will feature two semi-finals on the day 1. The successful teams of the semis will advance to the final showdown, while the losers will compete for bronze-ware in the classification match. The final and classification matches will be
played on second and eventually 2012 edition of CEV Women’s Champions League will come to an end.
Turkey’s Fenerbahce Universal Istanbul, Dinamo Kazan of Russia, French RC Cannes, and MC-Carnaghi Villa Cortese of Italy proved their endeavours in the 1/8 finals and clawed their way to final four. The first semi-final on Saturday will bring Turkish Fenerbahce
in a head-to-head fight with Dinamo KAZAN. The Turkish ladies are labelled as runner-ups in 2010 and bronze medallists of the past season.
Likewise, the pre-favourite of the tournament RC Cannes will take on Italy’s sensation MC-Carnaghi VILLA CORTESE. Both semi-final matches are expected to feature some extreme volleyball action in the Heydar Aliyev sport centre in Baku.
Azerbaijan played with two teams at the 2012 CEV Champions League but none of them could qualify for the semi-finals. Rabita and Azerrail participated in the league round of the championship but got disqualified on account of poor performance. Rabita Baku
played its last match against Fenerbahce and failed to overcome the strong opponent. On the other hand, Russian Dinamo Kazan proved to be a detractor for Azerrail Baku in a decisive golden set and caused elimination for Azerbaijani team.
Nonetheless, the local organisers are hopeful that passionate volleyball fans from all around the country will come to enjoy the final four games. All eyes are now set on the clock. Soon the finalists will come into stride and vie for the top European honour.
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