FIVB targets 250 teams for 2010 World Championships
10/26/2006
Tokyo, October 26, 2006: The 2006 FIVB World Championships for women and men are about to get under way in Japan.
It will be the second time in three editions that the FIVB’s showpiece event will have been held in Japan, the last time being 1998.
In 2010, the women’s World Championships will also take place in Japan, with the men’s competition in Italy.
But the FIVB President, Dr. Ruben Acosta, does not believe it is a disadvantage to the growth of the sport globally for one country to host the World Championships three times in 12 years.
“It will not be a problem because everyone was playing around the world for one year to qualify for these World Championships in Japan,” he told a news conference on Thursday morning.
“I am confident that this system is very good. We had 174 teams worldwide playing for this World Championships, and for the next one we have expectations that we will have 250 national teams, men and women.
“In volleyball we are following in the footsteps of football and trying to catch up the distance.”
Dr. Acosta said every country that staged a qualifying competition for the World Championships profited because they had to secure a TV host broadcaster.
“In 2002 the World Championships for women were in Germany, and Italy won it. It was a great step forward for us and we will continue down this path that leads to a higher quality.”
Dr. Acosta said he had been hoping for eight years that the United States would take an interest in hosting the Worlds, as he was sure the rally point system would “captivate” many fans.
