Press release

Doha, Qatar, October 7, 2011 – The FIVB Men’s and Women’s Club World Championships return to Doha, Qatar, for a second consecutive year in the double-gender championship format, while the city has hosted all three Men’s Club World Championships since 2009 when the tournament was re-introduced.

Both championships will have pool play Oct. 8-12 at Doha’s Aspire Ladies Sports Hall, followed by semifinal round matches on Oct. 13 and medal-round matches on Oct. 14. In both gender’s championship, the top two teams from each pool advance to the cross-over semifinals.

Two-time defending champion Trentino Diatec seek to continue Italy’s dominance in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Club World Championship, which will be an eight-team field in 2011 divided into two pools of four team. Trentino Diatec have won consecutive triple-crowns of sorts with back-to-back seasons of winning the CEV Champions League, Italian Serie A regular season and FIVB Men’s Volleyball Club World Championship titles. Trentino Diatec enters the 2011-2012 season attempting to claim their fourth straight CEV Champions League gold medal to match Russia’s VC CSKA Moscow record feat accomplished from the 1985-1986 season through the 1988-1989 season.

For additional information on the FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship, click here. For more informaton on the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship, click here. For Daily Bulletins for the tournament, click here.

Trentino Diatec begin their 2011 title quest as part of Pool B with Brazil’s Sesi Sao Paulo, Egypt’s Al-Ahly Cairo and Qatar’s Al-Arabi Doha. In Pool A, Poland’s KS Jastryebski Wegiel, Russia’s Zenit Kazan, Iran’s Paykan Tehran and Canada’s Trinity Western Spartans Vancouver will look to advance to the semifinal round on Oct. 13.

Paykan Tehran are participating in the event for the third straight year, including a bronze medal in 2010. Zenit Kazan competed in 2009 and earned the bronze medal. Al-Arabi Doha has played in each tournament hosted in Doha, while Al-Ahly Cairo represented Egypt in the most recent event in 2010.

The FIVB Men’s Volleyball Club World Championship was staged from 1989 to 1992 with Italy hosting in each year except 1991 when Brazil was the tournament site. Doha has been home to the event since the tournament was re-established in 2009. Italian club teams have dominated the event, all six previous events – Maxicono Parma in 1989, Mediolanum Milano in 1990, Il Messaggero in 1991, Misura Mediolanum Milano in 1992 and Trentino BetClic in 2009 and 2010.

For the FIVB Women’s Volleyball Club World Championship, the tournament is divided into two three-team pools. Pool A consists of Turkey’s VakifBank TTelekom Istanbul, Kenya’s Kenya Prisons Nairobi and Dominican Republic’s Mirador Santo Domingo. Clubs participating in Pool B are Azerbaijan’s Rabita Baku, Brazil’s Sollys Nestle Osasco and Thailand’s Chang Bangkok. VakifBank TTelekom Istanbul captured the 2010-2011 CEV Champions League title with a final-round victory over Rabita Baku, which surprised many with their runner-up finish.

Sollys Nestle Osasco return from last year’s silver-medal finish to Turkey’s Fenerbahce, which won their country’s first FIVB Women’s Volleyball Club World Championship title. Mirador Santo Domingo and Kenya Prisons Nairobi are also back for the second consecutive year.

The FIVB Women’s Volleyball Club World Championship returns for its fifth edition, and second in consecutive years after a 16-year hiatus. A club from the host country won the first three events in the tournament history. Sadia Esporte Club Sao Paulo won the top prize at the inaugural event held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1991. Il Messaggero Ravenna won the second event the following year in Italy, while Leite Moca Sao Paulo earned the gold medal in 1994 at Sao Paulo, Brazil. In the tournament’s return in 2010, Turkey’s Fenerbahce stood on the top podium steps in Doha, Qatar.