Volleyball
Even if you’re not a diehard fan of the sport, volleyball is easy to pick up and play, making it a great choice for having fun with friends in the summer.
But in some countries, volleyball is taken a lot more seriously than in others. Here are the countries where the sport is most popular.
Brazil
Brazil sits at the top of the FIVB Senio World Ranking for men’s volleyball with 427 points, ahead of Poland, the USA, and Russia. In the women’s rankings, the country sits third behind China and the USA with 328 points.
The men’s national team has won three Olympic gold medals, including in 2016 when the competition was held in Rio de Janeiro. It has also won both the FIVB World Championship and World Cup three times.
The women’s team isn’t far behind, with two Olympic golds and three silvers in the World Championship and World Cup.
You can find volleyball, along with many other sports, played regularly on the beaches of coastal towns and cities, including the famous Copacabana Beach.
Like with football, another sport where Brazil leads the world, the country’s success can be attributed to a strong affinity with team sports that is ingrained into the culture, along with plentiful development opportunities.
The United States
The United States is a country of sports lovers. Around a quarter of the population regularly take part in some sort of competitive sport, while more than a third watching at least one live game on TV each year. The sports betting market, which is currently undergoing a process of liberalization is proving to be incredibly popular with sportsbooks offering free bets as they try to pick up a market share. While betting on volleyball isn’t hugely popular, it is offered by some betting sites in the country.
The USA Is currently ranked third in the men’s FIVB Senior World Ranking with 365 points, behind Brazil and Poland. The women’s team fares better, sitting second with 382 points, just behind China. This is partly down to the fact that female players actually have more development opportunities than their male counterparts.
These development opportunities have helped the women’s national team to win the FIVB World Grand Prix six times, the FIVB World Championship in 2014, and three silver medals in the Olympic Games.
Then men’s team last won the World Championship back in 1986, and have picked up three Olympic gold medals, the most recent of which was at the 2008 Olympic Games in China.
Several attempts have been made to launch professional leagues within the US, though most have ultimately failed. Currently, there are two operating leagues: the National Volleyball Association and the Volleyball League of America, both were founded in 2019.
Volleyball 1
Russia
Not wanting to be outdone by the Americans, Russia invests a lot in volleyball. It’s men’s national team have won four Olympic gold medals, though three were as the Soviet Union. They got their first gold as the Russian Federation at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. They’ve also won six FIVB World Championships and six World Cup golds. They currently sith fourth in the world rankings with 317 points.
The women’s team is further down the rankings, currently sitting in 8th place with 275 points. As the Soviet Union, the team won four Olympic golds, but they’re to win one as Russia. However, they have picked up two silvers in 2000 and 2004.
The major difference between Russia and the USA and Brazil is that it has a long-running professional volleyball league. The Russian Volleyball Super League was founded in 1992, shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and is essentially a continuation of the Soviet Top League which had been running since 1933.
It has 14 teams, more than the two US leagues combined and is quite competitive. Between 1992 and 2008, there were 10 different teams that picked up a gold medal in the league, though since 2009, the competition has been dominated by Zenit Kazan, which has won in all but two years.
As well as homegrown talent, the league attracts players from around the world. Zenit Kazan alone has had players from nine different countries, including four from the United States.
Poland
Staying in Eastern Europe, volleyball is one of the most popular sports in Poland. The country is ranked second in the men’s FIVB Senior World Ranking with 384 points, putting them behind Brazil but ahead of the USA.
The men’s team has won one Olympic gold medal and three World Championship golds.
In contrast to the US, the women’s team hasn’t performed as well. Their best finish in the Olympics was bronze, both of which were acquired in the 1960s.
Like Russia though, Poland has a strong domestic professional league. PlusLiga is the top tier for men’s volleyball. This is also supported by a second-tier league and supplemented with two domestic cup competitions: the Polish Cup and the Polish SuperCup.
PlusLiga has 14 teams and operates a regular season with a playoff post-season, similar to most American sports leagues. The league is one of the best on the continent, ranked third by the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball. The league was first founded in 1954 as Klasa wydzielona, Ekstraklasa, 1 Liga Seria A, though it was renamed to the Polish Volleyball League in 2000.
There is also a women’s league known as TAURON Liga, though it is smaller in size than PlusLiga.
Millions of Poles watch games live on TV, just like other professional sports, through Polsat Sport. This helps to make the league a commercial success, unlike in the United States.
These are just some of the countries where volleyball is popular. Each one is very different in what makes the sport popular and how this popularity is channeled into sporting success. In Poland and Russia, strong domestic leagues have emerged, while in the United States, the popularity is channeled into the country’s national teams.
