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Bulgaria/Italy and the Netherlands/Belgium to host next European Championships

CEV president André Meyer announces the winning bid for the 2015 Men's European Championship that will be co-hosted by Bulgaria and Italy

Luxembourg, November 17, 2012 - CEV president André Meyer announced on Saturday afternoon – with 48 National Federations in attendance – that Bulgaria and Italy will host the 2015 Men’s CEV Volleyball European Championship following a decision of the CEV Board of Administration. This joint candidature eventually edged out the competition, Finland and Estonia. The Championships will take place in three venues in Bulgaria (Varna, Plovdiv and Sofia) and two in Italy (Messina and Catania). The final stage of the competition will be held at the Arena Armeec in Bulgaria’s capital city, which was also the venue of the FIVB World League Finals this past July.

The Netherlands and Belgium will host the 2015 CEV Women’s Volleyball European Championship. The competition will be held at state-of-the-art facilities in Rotterdam (venue of the finals), Apeldoorn, Almere and Antwerp. With a long tradition in volleyball, experience hosting major events and the support of local authorities, these countries promise to create a volleyball festival atmosphere. With Belgium having already hosted the preliminary rounds of the Championships in 2007, the Netherlands will host the European Championship for a second time since 1995. As the ultimate goal is to make volleyball more popular among youngsters, special campaigns to encourage the sport in schools and colleges will begin in 2014. A volleyball festival will also be organised around the European Championship.

The organisers of the 2014 CEV Junior Volleyball European Championship were also announced. Finland and Estonia will host the women’s competition with the finals played in Tartu, Estonia. The city has modern facilities and the men’s university volleyball team have been national champion several times. Tampere, Finland – a city with a long tradition in volleyball including World League matches and the 2009 European Youth Olympic Festival – will host the second preliminary pool.

The men’s Championship will be co-hosted by the city of Brno in the Czech Republic and Nitra in neighbouring Slovakia. Brno – a familiar location for Europe’s volleyball family as it hosted the Under-18 Beach Volleyball European Championships this past summer – will host the final stage of the competition.

The 2015 CEV Girls’ Youth Volleyball European Championship will be held in Varna and Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The multifunctional arena in Varna will be completely renovated to allow for a capacity of 7,000 seats by late 2014. The second preliminary pool will be hosted in Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city.

The Boys’ Championship is set to take place in Ankara, Turkey, which has hosted many international events in the past. The main goal of the Turkish Volleyball Federation is to develop men’s volleyball in order to mirror the success of the women’s national teams in all age groups.

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