Мнениеот marto » 22 сеп 2006, 08:56
Italy will face France again in the 2007 pool-play stages
Lausanne, 20th September 2006 –The FIVB is pleased to announce details of the prestigious men’s World League competition for 2007, with the Final Rounds to be staged in Rome, Italy. The two major changes to the tournament are Canada replacing Portugal in the 16-team line-up and a new decision by the FIVB’s World League Council which guarantees that the wild card will go to a second-ranked team from the Intercontinental Round.
In 2007, the FIVB World League will once again be played in all five of the FIVB’s Confederations, with matches in North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia before the final six teams converge on Europe for the fifth consecutive Final Round on the continent. The first Intercontinental Round will start on 25th May and the grand final will be played on 15th July. The competition format of the Final Round has yet to be decided.
As the FIVB’s World League Council meeting concluded, FIVB President Acosta declared “I am very proud that the World League has now completed its 17th edition as a major success and I am very excited about what the tournament will bring to Volleyball in 2007. Thanks to the continued support from our sponsors and the world’s television and press for our flagship annual men’s tournament, I am proud that the FIVB can once again offer total prize money in excess of 20 million US dollars.”
Defending champions Brazil have been seeded in Pool A together with newcomer Canada, and Korea. Canada’s head coach Glenn Hoag said “We are very excited with the news. As a coach you always look at playing good teams and World League will offer that. We will face tough travel and have to perform under pressure, which will make us grow as a group.” As the fourth team in the pool, Finland will once again have to face the strong Brazilian side after finishing third behind them and Argentina in the 2006 qualifiers.
The 2006 silver medallist France leads the Pool B hopefuls and is joined by the USA, Italy and Egypt. After making it through to the Final Six in 2006 as the FIVB wild card, Italy will now have the certainty of automatic qualification for the finals in 2007 as host country. The USA will need a strong performance against the European sides to keep its hopes of qualification alive. Egypt was the first-ever African team to participate in the tournament this year and will be looking to notch up its first World League victory in the 2007 tournament after exiting without a win on its debut.
Pool C comprises Russia, Cuba, Japan and Serbia. Russia took the bronze medal this year as host country of the Final Round, whilst Cuba missed out on qualification for the Final Six when Bulgaria beat it to the final slot on the narrowest of points ratio differences. Serbia will play its first-ever international Volleyball competition as a new separate state and is once again seeded in the same pool as Japan, who shocked them on their opening match of the 2006 campaign.
Blocked out by the ever-dominant Brazil in 2006, Argentina will play Bulgaria, China and Poland in Pool D. Bulgaria already proved its strength this year by surprising Brazil with a straight-set victory in the opening match of the Final Round. Poland, on the other hand, suffered same points ratio heartbreak as Cuba and had to concede the final berth to Serbia and Montenegro by only the slightest points ratio margin. Finally, China will be looking to make a mark on the tournament a year ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games after failing to bag a single victory in the 2006 edition.
World League 2007 Pools
Pool A: Brazil, Canada, Finland, Korea
Pool B: France, Italy, USA, Egypt
Pool C: Russia, Cuba, Serbia, Japan
Pool D: Bulgaria, Argentina, China, Poland