This year is an exciting one for volleyball fans as top players are keen to impress prior to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Of course, it’s not all about looking forward to the Olympics. There are plenty of opportunities to feature highly in top tournaments this year.
Volleyball fans are looking forward to these tournaments, including the FIVB Women’s World Cup, the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship, and the Women’s European Volleyball Championships. The big question is, which teams are likely to shine at these tournaments? Keep reading to take a closer look at the potential answers to this question.
China and the USA at the FIVB Women’s World Cup
The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) created the Women’s World cup in 1973. The first event was held in Uruguay and won by the Soviet Union. At the fifteenth edition of the tournament, China will hope to achieve a back-to-back-to-back victory. Experts predict that the team stands a good chance of success and that star player Zhu Ting may well achieve a third consecutive MVP win.
We spoke to a journalist from JustGamblers, the site that shared these predictions with us, who has experience reporting on world volleyball. He said:
“There is no doubt that China are favored by many to succeed in the competition. But, they could face stiff competition from the USA. The USA team has not won gold at the competition yet, but they have finished in the medals in the last five tournaments, so you have to think that at some point, they will go one step better and win.”
After winning silver in 2011 and 2029, as well as bronze in 2003, 2007, and 2015, the USA team and fans will certainly hope this is the case.
Italian teams at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship
The Men’s Club World Championships are taking place in India in 2023 and 2024. The host nation will be represented by the team that wins the RuPay Prime Volleyball League. This top Indian league is also co-hosting the tournament.
Teams from countries across the world will take part in the tournament, including Iran, Brazil, and Italy. Given the prior success of Italian clubs in the competition, many volleyball enthusiasts think that a club from Italy will likely triumph this year. If this happens, it will continue the Italian success of last year when Sir Safety Susa Perugia beat fellow Italians Trentino in the final. Italian teams are also the most successful overall in the tournament, with 11 titles between them.
Italy, Serbia, and the Netherlands at the Women’s European Volleyball Championships (EuroVolley 2023)
The Women’s European Championships takes place from August 15 to September 3, across four host nations, Belgium, Germany, Estonia, and Italy. The defending champions are Italy. However, they are far from certain to retain their title in the 33rd edition of the tournament.
While the Italians are amongst the favorites, strong teams like Serbia and the Netherlands may prevent them from prevailing. The high standard of talent taking part should make this a thrilling competition.
It remains to be seen which teams triumph at these competitions. Whatever happens, this year’s competitions are set to be a thrilling prelude to the 2024 Olympics.
