Important Volleyball news from Serbia and Montenegro
07/06/2006
Lausanne, 15 June 2006: Following Montenegro’s official declaration of independence, the FIVB has acted swiftly to secure the status quo regarding the participation of the Serbia and Montenegro team at this year’s World Championships, whilst at the same time paving the way for the eventual integration of a new governing body for Volleyball in Montenegro within the international federation.
Serbia and Montenegro is one of only four countries in the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) to have qualified both its women’s and men’s teams for the FIVB World Championships in Japan this year. In the interests of continuity and fair play, the FIVB is pleased to confirm that the teams will compete in the tournament under the current flag of Serbia and Montenegro, the same flag under which they qualified to play in the tournament.
FIVB President Acosta welcomed the news, saying “Serbia and Montenegro are a strong force in Volleyball. In addition to having teams of both genders qualified for the World Championships, the country put on an excellent show for last year’s World League finals, in which their men’s team battled to the very end, losing only to the mighty Brazil in the final match. They will be hosting Intercontinental Rounds of the World League again this year and, in recognition of the hard work by the teams and organisers, the FIVB is happy to offer all its support for a smooth transition in the organisation of Volleyball activities in the two new states.”
Taking into account Montenegro’s declaration of independence, the FIVB is already working on the integration of a new Volleyball federation and is ready to grant affiliation to the Volleyball Association. At the 30th FIVB World Congress, which will be held from 23-25 October in Japan before the World Championships, the new entity will already be present under the flag of Montenegro, either as an observer or - if sound progress is made - as a newly affiliated member of the FIVB. Serbia will be represented at the Congress under its own flag. With the possible re-integration of the Volleyball Federation of Montserrat at the Congress, this could take the total number of federations affiliated to the FIVB worldwide to 220, re-affirming the organisation’s status as the world’s biggest sports organisation in terms of member states.
