FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship

Lausanne, Switzerland, April 28, 2014: With Hisamitsu Springs of Japan taking the title at the Asian Women’s Club Championship, the six team line up for the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship Zurich 2014 is nearing completion.

The Asian champions now join hosts Volero Zurich, 2014 South America Women’s Club Championship champions Sesi-SP and European club champions Dinamo Kazan as the teams who have already qualified for the world tournament which will take place from May 7 to 11.

Additionally the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the organisers of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship Zurich 2014 allocated thefirst of two wild cards for the tournament to Molico Osasco of Brazil.

With only one more wild card to be allocated, this year’s FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship will feature six teams as in the previous editions except for the first two in 1991 and 1992, which saw eight teams compete.

Unlike the Men’s Club World Championship, the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship has had seven different winners from four different countries. Brazil has been represented on the winner’s podium three times, Turkey twice while Azerbaijan and Italy have had clubs step on the top podium once.

Last year’s tournament saw VakifBank Istanbul graduate from European to world champions in front of a packed Saalsporthalle in Zurich. The Turkey representatives beat their South American counterparts Unilever Volei from Brazil in straight sets 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-16) to capture their first ever FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship title.

The lineup for the men’s tournament, which will take place in Belo Horizonte, Brazil from May 5 to 10, is now complete.

Defending champions Sada Cruzeiro, who finished second to Italy’s Trentino in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship Doha 2012, will be joined by UPCN of Argentina, who qualified after finishing as runner-up at the South American Men’s Club Championship, European champions Belogorie Belgorod of Russia, African champions Esperance of Tunisia, the NORCECA representative Guaynabo Mets along with the Asia champions Matin Varamin of Iran.

The two wild cards for the event were allocated to four time champions Trentino of Italy and Qatar’s Al-Rayyan.