Volleyball Special Report: 2011 World League pools announced
The Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) has lately announced the new format of 2011 World League Men’s Volleyball Championship, which is scheduled to start on May 27 and the campaign will go on till July . The final round of the championship will
be held from 6-10 July in the city of Gdansk, Poland. This time around, the final round has a different set-up with slight changes. Since the qualification phase of 2011 World League Championship is over now and 16 teams have been finalized for the competition,
the FIVB has lately announced the respective pools for these teams.
Initially the teams will be split into 4 pools:
Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D
Each pool will accommodate four teams in it. The teams from USA, Poland, Brazil and Puerto Rico have been allotted Pool A. Two of world’s commanding teams are going to be in this pool and it will surely create a lot of buzz. World No. 1 Brazil, and USA,
which is currently ranked No. 3 in the FIVB World ranking, will be competing against each and it will be a great sight to watch two strong sides in the championship. Brazil is the potential threat for all other teams in the squad as they have achieved success
every year in the World League Championship since 2003, except 2008 when they finished in the second position. Brazil has a record of winning the World League Championship 9 times since 1990. The Brazilian team is enjoying a good form and they are determined
to defend the title for another year.
Moreover, it will be a great honour for Puerto Rico to play at this level. It is the first ever appearance of Puerto Rican team in World League Championship. The team earned a spot in the World League by winning the qualification tournament this year.
Likewise, Russia, Germany, Japan and Bulgaria will be playing under the label of Pool B in 2011 World League Championship, whereas Pool C will have Serbia, Finland, Argentina and Egypt. The powerhouse Italy, Caribbean team from Cuba, French and Korean teams
will also be on the board with a tag of Pool D.
The preliminary round of the championship will start with 16 teams and two top teams from each group will qualify for the final round of the championship. Since the final round will be staged in Poland, so the host country is guaranteed a get a place.
FIVB World League council president Francesco Franchi expressed his views,
“Such is the increased competition in the FIVB World League it is necessary to expand the World League showcase – the Final Round. The Final Round is the culmination of six weekends of Intercontinental Round action and now with eight teams participating, it
provides the exceptional finale to what is an exceptional tournament."
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