Poland to Host 2014 Men’s Volleyball World Championship

Poland will host 2014 Men’s Volleyball World Championship following a signed agreement between the International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB) and the Poland Volleyball Federation.

Poland was announced as hosts of the FIVB’s premier event for men in 2008 but the Organising Committee Agreement signed between FIVB President Jizhong Wei and Poland Volleyball Federation president Miroslaw Przedpelski underpins the strutural competencies and responsibilities of the respective parties.

It will be the first time Poland has hosted an FIVB World Championship, which will feature 24 teams of which only the hosts are automatically qualified.The Preliminary Rounds for the 2014 World Championships will begin later this year with the registration process now open.

Volleyball in Poland has enjoyed a huge surge in popularity over the last few years with Gdansk hosting the spectacular 2011 World League Finals where the Polish men’s team finishing third while they collected silver at the 2006 FIVB World Championships in Japan and a year later Katowice hosted one of the best-ever FIVB World League Final Rounds, with spectators filling out Spodek Hall night after night.

The 2014 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship will be hosted in Italy.

The Brazilian men’s team and Russian women’s team have claimed the gold medals at the last two editions (2010 and 2006) of the  FIVB World Championships.