Press release

Beijing, China, February 16, 2011 – The drawing of lots for the 2011 AVC Club Volleyball Championships took place in Beijing on Wednesday under the guidance of the AVC Sport Events Council Chairman, Mr. Shanrit Wongprasert.

The draw for the tournament, the winners of which will qualify for the 2011 FIVB Club World Championships in Doha, Qatar, was conducted using the names of the participating countries due to the fact that the respective national leagues are still in progress.

A total of 12 teams will take part in the 2011 AVC Men's Club Championship scheduled for July 23-31 in Palembang, Indonesia. The participating teams were drawn into two pools with the hosts Indonesia playing Japan, China, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Afghanistan in Pool A while Iran will compete with Qatar, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Myanmar and Turkmenistan in Pool B.

The 2011 AVC Women's Club Championship, which will be held in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam from June 18-26, involves eight teams divided into two pools. Hosts Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines and Iran are grouped in Pool A while Thailand will take on Kazakhstan, Indonesia and China.

In the 2010 edition, Federbrau of Thailand, Thetyssu of Kazakhstan and JT Marvelous of Japan finished as the top three in the women's event, while Paykan of Iran, Al-Arabi of Qatar and Panasonic Panthers of Japan won the men's gold, silver and bronze medals respectively. Federbrau went on to finish fifth at the FIVB Women's Club World Championship in December while Paykan claimed bronze and Al-Arabi (competing as hosts) finished fifth in the men's competition.