Intercontinental Round
Pools A, B, C, D and E play double home and away matches - two
matches each weekend – while Pools F, G and H play Round Robin
tournaments (two matches per day over three days)
Final Round
Pool A and B will hold a Final
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, featuring the top two teams from Pool A and B, the hosts and the winner
from the Final Four from Pools C, D and E – from July 15 to 19.
Pool C, D and E will hold a Final Four in Bulgaria on the weekend of
July 10 to 11.
Pool F, G and H will hold a Final Four in Slovakia from June 3 to 5.
Four teams – the host country and the winners of the three pools - will
participate in the Finals.
The FIVB Volleyball World League 2015
is expected to be the biggest and best yet with the 26th edition of the
tournament expanding to include a record 32 teams.
Each country will be split across eight pools of exciting action and
continues the on-going growth of the competition after the 2014 edition
welcomed 28 teams for the first time.
Nine-time winners and 2014 silver medallists Brazil head Pool A
alongside bronze medallists from the last edition Italy, three-time
silver medallists Serbia as well as Australia who were promoted from
Group 2.
Reigning champions USA will begin the defence of their crown in Pool B
and will take on 2013 winners Russia, world champions Poland and the
ever-improving Iran.
Pool C features Bulgaria, Canada, Argentina and Cuba with the latter
promoted after their triumph in the Group 3 finals in 2014. France and
Germany will have a chance to re-enact their World Championship bronze
medal match in Pool D will also face Korea and Czech Republic. Belgium,
the Netherlands, Finland and Portugal complete Group 2 in Pool E.
Montenegro will make their bow in the tournament in Pool F with Turkey,
Puerto Rico and Tunisia. Greece return for the first time in a decade in
Pool G and will face Mexico, Slovakia and China while Egypt are also
back after a five-year absence in Pool H along with debutants Kazakhstan
and Japan and Spain.
The World League featured eight teams in its inaugural year in 1990, 10
in 1991, 12 from 1992-2000 and 2004-05, 16 from 2001-2003 and 2006-2012
and then 18 in the 2013 edition.