The FIVB Volleyball World Championship is an international men's and women's
indoor volleyball competition. It is the oldest and most important of all the
international events organised by the FIVB and must not be confused with the
World Cup, World Grand Champions Cup, or the World League/World Grand Prix.
History = Origins=
The history of the World Championship goes back to the beginnings of
volleyball as a professional, high level sport. One of the first concrete
measures taken by the FIVB after its foundation in 1947 was the establishment
of an international competition involving teams from more than one
continent. In 1949, the first edition was played in Prague, Czechoslovakia. At
that point, the tournament was men's only and still restricted to Europe.
Three years later, a women's version was introduced; the events were synchronized
and expanded to include nations from Asia, and began to be held in 4-year
cycles. By the following edition, there were also teams from South, Central and
North America. Since volleyball was to be added to the
Olympic Program in 1964, the 4-cycles were advanced in 2 years after the
fourth edition, so that the World Championship may alternate with the
Summer Olympics. As of 1970, teams from Africa also took part in the
competition, and the original goal of having members from all five continental
confederations in the games was achieved.
The number of teams involved in the games has changed significantly over the
years. Following volleyball's increase in popularity, they raised steadily to
over 20 in the 1970s and part of the 1980s, were then cut short to 16 in the
1990s, and finally set up in 24 after 2002. Today, the World Championship is
the most comprehensive of all events organized by the FIVB, and arguably the
second most important, surpassed in prestige only by the Olympic Games.
Until 1974, the host nation of the tournament organized both the men's and
the women's events, with the single exception of the 1966/1967 games, which
took place in different years. Since 1978, this practice has been only
occasionally observed, for instance, in 1998 and in the 2006 edition, which was
held, as the former was, in Japan. = Winners=
The history of the World Championship clearly demonstrates how volleyball was
originally dominated by European nations.
The first two editions were won by the Soviet Union. In 1956, twice runner-up
Czechoslovakia took the gold. There followed two more consecutive wins for
the Soviet Union, in both cases over Czechoslovakia. The United States men's
national volleyball team, led by captain Eugene Selznick, won the 1960 and 1966
Volleyball World Championships. The Czechs won a gold medal in the 1966
edition. In 1970, East Germany prevailed over
Bulgaria for their first and only title. In 1974, the Soviet Union threatened to
take the lead once more, but ended up being defeated by Poland at the final.
Nevertheless, they would confirm their leadership by winning, for the third
time, two editions in a row. 1986 saw the first relevant
confrontation between United States, the rising major force of the decade, and
the traditional leader Soviet Union after the Olympic boycotts of 1980 and
1984. As would be the case two years later at the Seoul Games, the issue was
settled in favour of the Americans led by Karch Kiraly and Steve Timmons. Italy
completely dominated the competition in the 1990s, winning all the editions that
took place in this decade, led by such players as Lorenzo Bernardi and Andrea
Giani. In the 2000s, Brazil became the leading
force in the sport, winning three consecutive editions, the first of which
in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the same stage where the Brazilians had been
runner-ups in 1982. In 2014, Poland, playing in home, defeated Brazil in 4
sets at the final achieving their second gold medal and preventing what would be
a historical fourth title in a row. As of 2014, 18 editions of the men's
Volleyball World Championship have been played: 14 went to European teams, and
four to American teams. = Winners=
If the titles of the women's World Championship are evenly distributed
between Europe and Asia, the situation is quite different when nations are
taken into account. Except for Italy's single—and for many, unexpected—victory
in 2002, the only winners so far have been the Russia, Japan, China and Cuba.
The Soviets made a most impressive start by winning the first three editions of
the tournament: 1952, 1956, 1960. They were halfway to making it four, since
the following edition was to be played in Moscow. Former runners-up Japan,
nevertheless, was the champions in 1962 and interrupted the winning streak,
repeating the performance in 1967, when the Soviet Union national team did not
participate. The teams faced each other again in
1970, and this time the Soviet Union beat their opponents to collect the
gold. In the following edition, Japan took revenge and defeated the Soviet
Union in straight sets. Then something extraordinary happened: the world
watched astonished as a young Cuban squad left behind the two longtime
rivals and secured the first important volleyball title for a continent other
than Europe or Asia. The early 1980s saw the rise of a new
Asian force: led by superstar Lang Ping, China stamped its mark on the World
Championship's history by winning two editions in a row. They also made it to
the finals in 1990, but were overpowered by the Soviet Union in its last
participation at the competition. Cuba's 1978 title finally fructified in
an aggressive style of play that virtually dominated the 1990s. Led by
powerplayers Regla Torres, Mireya Luis and Regla Bell, the Caribbeans won the
1994 and 1998 editions of the World Championship, beating newbies as well as
tradition rivals such as Russia and China.
In spite of being appointed as favourite in 2002, China lost at the semifinals to
a rising Italy, which would eventually win the final against United States
In 2006, favourite Brazil couldn't stop Russia and lost the gold medal match in
a shocking final tie-breaker. In 2010, Russia once again defeated
Brazil in a 5th-set tie-breaker. In 2014, the United States made it to
the finals after an astonishing straight-set win against the 2012
Olympic champion and 2006 and 2010 runner-up Brazil. China, on the other
hand, reached the championship after winning over hosts Italy in a four-set
fashion. The finals saw two former World champions - Lang Ping and Karch Kiraly -
at the helm of the champion squads. United States' momentum carried them to
a 3-1 victory over the young Chinese squad, earning the first ever World
title for the USA women's team after finishing as bridesmaids in several
editions of the World Championship, World Cup and the Olympic Games.
Kimberly Hill was named as the MVP of the tournament.
Competition formula The competition formula of the FIVB
World Championship has been constantly changed to fit the different number of
teams that participate in each edition. The following rules usually apply:
Twenty-four teams participate in each event.
Qualification procedures for the World Championship are long and strenuous,
lasting over two years. Host nations are always pre-qualified.
The number of spots available per confederation is determined by the FIVB:
Europe has usually the highest, and Africa or South America the lowest.
To participate in the event, a team must survive a number of qualification
tournaments depending on its position in the FIVB World Rankings. Low-ranked
teams may have to engage in up to three tournaments to be granted a berth;
high-ranked teams typically play only one.
The competition is divided in at least two phases: a preliminary round and a
final round. Depending on the number of participating teams, one or more
intermediary rounds may also be required.
In the preliminary round, teams are organized in pools. Each team plays one
match against all other teams in its pool.
When all the matches of the preliminary round have been played, the top n teams
in each pool qualify for the following round(s), and the remaining ones leave
the competition. The value of n depends on the number of participating teams and
the format that will be employed in the finals.
The FIVB has tried various different formats for the final round(s). For some
years now, there seems to be a consensus that at least semifinals and finals must
be played according to the Olympic format.
Quarterfinals may consist of groups of teams playing against each other, or of
direct confrontation; in the latter case additional intermediary rounds might be
required to reduce the number of surviving teams to eight.
The tournament implements very tight line-up restrictions: only twelve
players are allowed, and no replacement is permitted, even in case of injuries.
Results = Men=
= Men's hosts= 2018 hosts selection
An evaluation of all bids will take place. The winning bidder for this event
will be announced on December 9, 2015. = Women=
= Women's hosts= = MVP by edition=
Medals summary = Men=
= Women= See also
Volleyball at the Summer Olympics FIVB Volleyball World Cup
FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup
FIVB Volleyball World League FIVB World Grand Prix
List of indoor volleyball World Champions
List of indoor volleyball world medalists
References External links
FIVB Volleyball World Championship History