Lausanne, February 16, 2009 – The FIVB has confirmed the match schedule for the 2009 World League, the 20th anniversary edition of Volleyball’s premier annual event involving the world’s best men’s players. The 2009 edition will involve 16 national teams playing 106 matches over seven consecutive weekends in 42 cities across the globe and once again competing for US$20 million in prize money.

The six Intercontinental Rounds begin the weekend of June 12-14 and end on the extended weekend of July 15-19. The 16 participating teams are divided into four pools, with each team playing their pool opponents twice over a weekend both home and away.

The Final Round will be contested by six teams playing a total of 10 matches through July 22-26 at Belgrade Arena in Serbia’s capital city. The famous venue, which hosted the successful 2005 FIVB World League Final Round, has undergone renovations that have set the seating capacity at 18,386 for Volleyball matches.

The Finals will include Serbia as organizing country, the winners of each pool and a wild card chosen by the FIVB from the best second-ranked teams in the Intercontinental Rounds.

Defending champions USA are in Pool A against eight-time winners Italy, China and 1996 winner Netherlands. Serbia, who won silver in 2008, are in Pool B with France, Korea and Argentina. If Serbia win the group, the second-placed team also advances to the Final Round.

Victory for Brazil in 2009 would mean they match Italy for most World League victories with eight. Italy and Brazil are the only teams to compete in all 19 editions of competition up to 2008.

The 2008 FIVB World League was another huge success with 2,080 hours of television coverage worldwide (excluding news coverage), with 35 percent of it live match coverage. The gold-medal match between USA and Serbia in Rio de Janeiro was broadcast in more than 100 countries.

A new record was set for World League attendance in 2008. A total of 665,000 spectators attended the 106 Intercontinental and Final Round matches, beating the 2001 record of 649,000.

2009 FIVB World League pool composition:
Pool A: USA, Italy (ITA), China (CHN), Netherlands (NED)
Pool B: Serbia (SRB), France (FRA), Korea (KOR), Argentina (ARG)
Pool C: Russia (RUS), Bulgaria (BUL), Japan (JPN), Cuba (CUB)
Pool D: Brazil (BRA), Poland (POL), Finland (FIN), Venezuela (VEN)

2009 FIVB World League match schedule:

* All times are local

Weekend 1: June 12-14
Pool A
ITA-CHN 12.06.09 20:30  Verona
NED-USA 13.06.09 17:00 Rotterdam
ITA-CHN 13.06.09 20:30 Verona
NED-USA 14.06.09 15:00 Rotterdam
Pool B
SRB-FRA 12.06.09 20:30  Nis
KOR-ARG 13.06.09 14:00 Suwon
KOR-ARG 14.06.09 14:00 Suwon
SRB-FRA 14.06.09 20:30 Belgrade
Pool C
CUB-BUL 12.06.09 20:40 Havana
JPN-RUS 13.06.09 14:00 Tokorozawa
CUB-BUL 13.06.09 20:40  Havana
JPN-RUS 14.06.09 14:00 Tokorozawa
Pool D
VEN-FIN 12.06.09 19:00  Caracas
BRA-POL 13.06.09 10:00 Sao Paulo
BRA-POL 14.06.09 10:00 Sao Paulo
VEN-FIN 14.06.09 14:00 Caracas

Weekend 2: June 19-21
Pool A
ITA-USA 19.06.09 19:30 Reggio Calabria
NED-CHN 20.06.09 17:00 Apeldoorn
NED-CHN 21.06.09 15:00 Apeldoorn
ITA-USA 21.06.09 18:00 Catania
Pool B
FRA-ARG 19.06.09  20:30 Lyon
KOR-SRB 20.06.09 14:00 Jeonju
KOR-SRB 21.06.09 14:00 Jeonju
FRA-ARG 21.06.09   19:00  Nice
Pool C
CUB-RUS 19.06.09   20:40  Havana
BUL-JPN 20.06.09 17:30  Varna
CUB-RUS 20.06.09 20:40 Havana
BUL-JPN  21.06.09 17:30 Varna
Pool D
BRA-FIN 19.06.09 10:00 Brasilia
VEN-POL 19.06.09   19:00  Caracas
BRA-FIN 20.06.09 10:00 Brasilia
VEN-POL 21.06.09 14:00 Caracas

Weekend 3: June 26-28
Pool A
USA-CHN 26.06.09 19:00 San José, CA
NED-ITA 27.06.09 17:00 Eindhoven
USA-CHN 27.06.09 19:00 San José, CA
NED-ITA 28.06.09 15:00  Eindhoven
Pool B
SRB-ARG 26.06.09 20:30 Belgrade
FRA-KOR 26.06.09 20:30 Montpellier
FRA-KOR 28.06.09 19:30 Toulouse
SRB-ARG 28.06.09 20:30 Novi Sad
Pool C
JPN-CUB 27.06.09 14:00 Toyama
RUS-BUL 27.06.09 18:00 Khabarovsk
JPN-CUB 28.06.09 14:00 Toyama
RUS-BUL 28.06.09 18:00 Khabarovsk
Pool D
FIN-VEN 26.06.09 18:30 Tampere
POL-BRA 26.06.09 20:00 Lodz
FIN-VEN 27.06.09 18:30 Tampere
POL-BRA 27.06.09 20:00 Lodz

Weekend 4: July 3-5
Pool A
ITA-NED 03.07.09 20:30 Mantova
CHN-USA 04.07.09 19:15 Nanjing
CHN-USA 05.07.09 19:15 Nanjing
ITA-NED 05.07.09 20:30 Modena
Pool B
FRA-SRB 03.07.09 20:30 Paris
ARG-KOR 04.07.09 18:00 Buenos Aires
FRA-SRB 05.07.09 19:00 Liévin
ARG-KOR 05.07.09 18:00 Buenos Aires
Pool C
JPN-BUL 04.07.09 15:00 Tokyo
RUS-CUB 04.07.09 18:00 Khabarovsk
JPN-BUL 05.07.09 14:00 Tokyo
RUS-CUB 05.07.09 18:00 Khabarovsk
Pool D
FIN-BRA 03.07.09 18:30 Tampere
POL-VEN 03.07.09 20:00 Wroclaw
FIN-BRA 04.07.09 18:30 Tampere
POL-VEN 04.07.09 20:00 Wroclaw

Weekend 5: July 10-12
Pool A
USA-ITA 10.07.09 19:00 Hoffman Estates, IL
CHN-NED 11.07.09 19:15 Nanjing
USA-ITA 11.07.09 19:00 Hoffman Estates, IL
CHN-NED 12.07.09 19:15 Nanjing
Pool B
ARG-SRB 10.07.09 22:00 Formosa
KOR-FRA 11.07.09 14:00 Cheonan
ARG-SRB 11.07.09 22:00 Formosa
KOR-FRA 12.07.09 14:00 Cheonan
Pool C
RUS-JPN 10.07.09 18:00 Surgut
RUS-JPN 11.07.09 18:00 Surgut
BUL-CUB 11.07.09 17:30 Varna
BUL-CUB 12.07.09 17:30 Varna
Pool D
FIN-POL 10.07.09 18:30 Tampere
VEN-BRA 10.07.09 19:00 Caracas
FIN-POL 11.07.09 18:30 Tampere
VEN-BRA 12.07.09 14:00 Caracas

Weekend 6: July 15-19
Pool A
CHN-ITA 17.07.09 19:15 Nanjing
USA-NED 17.07.09 19:00 Wichita, KS
CHN-ITA 18.07.09 19:15 Nanjing
USA-NED 18.07.09 19:00 Wichita, KS
Pool B
ARG-FRA 16.07.09 22:00 San Juan
SRB-KOR 17.07.09 20:30 Nis
ARG-FRA 17.07.09 22:00 San Juan
SRB-KOR 19.07.09 20:30 Belgrade
Pool C
BUL-RUS 17.07.09 17:30 Varna
CUB-JPN 17.07.09 20:40 Havana
BUL-RUS 18.07.09 17:30 Varna
CUB-JPN 18.07.09 20:40 Havana
Pool D
POL-FIN 15.07.09  20:00 Bydgoszcz
POL-FIN 16.07.09 20:00 Bydgoszcz
BRA-VEN 18.07.09 10:00 Belo Horizonte
BRA-VEN 19.07.09 10:00 Belo Horizonte

Final Round: July 22-26
Hosts Serbia, four first-placed teams in pools and FIVB wild card at Belgrade Arena.

For all the latest information on the 2009 FIVB World League go to:
http://www.fivb.org/EN/volleyball/competitions/WorldLeague/2009/index2.asp