The Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) has recently announced the host cities for the eagerly anticipated Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifiers. These cities will host world-class volleyball teams competing for a coveted spot at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournaments (OQT) will occur from 16-24 September 2023 in Ningbo, China (Pool A), Tokyo, Japan (Pool B), and Lodz, Poland (Pool C). Men’s OQTs will follow, taking place from 30 September to 8 October 2023 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Pool A), Tokyo, Japan (Pool B), and Xian, China (Pool C).
The composition of the Women’s Tournament is as follows: Pool A, to be held in Ningbo, includes teams from China, Serbia, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Canada, Czechia, Mexico, and Ukraine. Tokyo, the host of Pool B, will host Japan, Brazil, Turkey, Belgium, Bulgaria, Puerto Rico, Argentina, and Peru. Lodz will welcome teams from Poland, Italy, United States, Germany, Thailand, Colombia, South Korea, and Slovenia in Pool C.
On the men’s side, Pool A in Rio de Janeiro will feature Brazil, Italy, Iran, Cuba, Ukraine, Germany, Czechia, and Qatar. Tokyo’s Pool B includes Japan, United States, Slovenia, Serbia, Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt, and Finland. In Xian, Pool C will host China, Poland, Argentina, Netherlands, Canada, Mexico, Belgium, and Bulgaria.
The Road to Paris Qualifiers are a crucial step towards Olympic participation. Twelve teams per gender will participate in the Olympic volleyball competition in Paris 2024. As the host nation, France has already secured its place. The remaining 11 slots will be allocated via a two-step qualification process, ensuring both the representation of top volleyball nations and adherence to the principle of universality.
This process involves six Olympic quota places per gender contested during the Qualification Tournaments. The top 24 unqualified teams, according to the FIVB Volleyball Senior World Ranking (WR), will be split into three pools of eight teams, with the top two teams from each pool securing a spot for Paris 2024.
The last five slots per gender will be filled by selecting the top five unqualified teams in the FIVB WR at the conclusion of the 2024 Volleyball Nations League’s preliminary phase. To uphold the universality principle, these teams are selected in the order of priority: firstly, teams from continents without a qualified team, and secondly, top teams yet to qualify.
Women’s Tournament
Pool A (Ningbo, China) – China, Serbia, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Canada, Czechia, Mexico, Ukraine
Pool B (Tokyo, Japan) – Japan, Brazil, Turkey, Belgium, Bulgaria, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Peru
Pool C (Lodz, Poland) – Poland, Italy, United States, Germany, Thailand, Colombia, South Korea, Slovenia
Men’s Tournament
Pool A (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) – Brazil, Italy Iran, Cuba, Ukraine, Germany, Czechia, Qatar
Pool B (Tokyo, Japan) – Japan, United States, Slovenia, Serbia, Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt, Finland
Pool C (Xian, China) – China, Poland, Argentina, Netherlands, Canada, Mexico, Belgium, Bulgaria
