FIVB announces 2011 Men’s World League pools
Finally the wait is over and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) announced the 2011 Men’s World League schedule and Pools. The announcement was made at FIVB’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. The 2011 Men’s World League will be held between 27 May and 10 July. Sixteen teams from around the world will take part in the competition.
Puerto Rico, Brazil, USA, Poland, Russia, Germany, Bulgaria, Japan, Argentina, Serbia, Italy, France, Korea, Egypt, and Finland will be fighting it out for the trophy in this edition of the World League Championship.The teams have been divided into four groups for the tournament.
Pool A: Puerto Rico, Brazil, USA and Poland have been placed in Pool A. Defending champions Brazil will open their campaign against Puerto Rico. This is the first time that Puerto Rico is playing at the World League Championship. Likewise, Poland will take on the United States in their first match on home soil.
Pool B: Russia, Bulgaria, Germany and Japan have been paired together in group B. Last year’s silver medalists Russia are scheduled to play Germany in their opening encounter, which will surely create a great buzz in the game. Germany is returning to championship for the first time since 2003.
Pool C: The third pool of the World League comprises Serbia, Argentina, Finland and Egypt. Argentina faces Serbia, while Egypt lock horns with Finland in their opening matches. All four teams in Pool C are very strong, which suggests fans could be in for quite a treat at the World League Championship.
Pool D: Cuba, Italy, France and South Korea round off the competing nations in Pool D. The team from Cuba will face the mighty Italians in the opener of the 2011 World League. Cuba is the only team which has no home fixtures in this edition of the tournament. France will be playing their first match against South Korea.
For the first preliminary robin round stage, teams will travel to different cities, while the final round of the tournament will be played in the Polish city of Gdansk-Sopot. This is the third time that Poland is hosting the final phase of the World League Championship. Top two teams from each pool will progress to the final round of the tournament.
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