FIVB 2008 World Grand Prix countdown: Preliminary Rounds to start this weekend in China, Japan, Italy
The 2008 edition of the FIVB World Grand Prix, the premier annual Women’s competition featuring the world’s best players, begins this weekend with Preliminary Round matches through June 20-22 in Japan, China and Italy.
Two-time winners USA, hosts Japan, Turkey and Kazakhstan will play against each other at the Green Arena in Kobe in Pool A.
Six-time winners Brazil, hosts China, the 2003 champions, Thailand and Germany come together in Pool B in Ningbo at the Beilun Sports Centre, the scene of last year’s Final Round.
In Pool C at the Palaravizza Hall in Alassio, hosts Italy, two-time winners Cuba, Poland and Dominican Republic will face each other.
The 2008 edition involves the teams playing a total of 69 matches over four consecutive weekends in 10 cities. The Preliminary Rounds end the weekend of July 4-6, with each team playing nine matches over the first three weekends.
The other Preliminary Rounds take place in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam, Wroclaw, Poland, and Hong Kong on the second weekend and Bangkok, Thailand, Taipei, Chinese Taipei, and Macau the third.
The Final Round in Yokohama will be contested between Japan as organizing country and the best five teams from the Preliminary Rounds in a round-robin format through July 9-13.
In 2007, the Netherlands won their first major trophy in FIVB competitions with a perfect record in the Final Round, becoming the sixth team to win the renowned title and snapping Brazil's run of three straight triumphs. They did not qualify for the 2008 edition.
The popularity of the World Grand Prix goes from strength to strength. A total of 334,975 spectators attended last year’s competition, with attendance in the Final Round in Ningbo improving on 2006. There were 500 hours of first-run TV coverage and a potential audience of 498.65 million TV households.
The clamour for tickets for this year’s Preliminary Round matches in Poland led to organizers changing venues to accommodate more spectators. The Polish Volleyball Federation sold out all tickets at HSW Orbita Hall for the Group E matches in Wroclaw through June 27-29 and upgraded the venue to Centennial Hall in Wroclaw, a venue which hosted FIVB World League matches in 2001 and 2002.
Final Round press accreditation applications:
The Final Round is now open for press accreditation applications.
Media wishing to cover the climax of the World Grand Prix are requested to contact the Japan Volleyball Association Press Accreditation Section no later than Friday, June 27.
The contact email address is press2008@worldvolleyball.jp
Applicants will be informed by Friday, July 4, on the status of their application. Phone applications are not accepted.
Accredited media are asked to bring a printout copy of their “AD Card Permission Form” and their passport to the press information desk at the Final Round venue before the start of competition.
FIVB World Grand Prix Preliminary Round schedule:
* All times are local
First weekend: June 20-22
Pool A: Kobe, Japan, Green Arena
TUR-USA 20 June 15:00
JPN-KAZ 20 June 18:30
KAZ-USA 21 June 15:00
JPN-TUR 21 June 18:00
KAZ-TUR 22 June 15:00
JPN-USA 22 June 18:00
Pool B: Ningbo, China, Beilun Sports Centre
BRA-THA 20 June 15:00
CHN-GER 20 June 19:30
CHN-THA 21 June 15:00
GER-BRA 21 June 19:30
GER-THA 22 June 13:30
CHN-BRA 22 June 17:00
Pool C: Alassio, Italy, Palaravizza hall
CUB-POL 20 June 17:30
ITA-DOM 20 June 20:00
DOM-CUB 21 June 16:00
ITA-POL 21 June 18:30
POL-DOM 22 June 16:00
ITA-CUB 22 June 18:30
Second weekend: June 27-29
Pool D: Vinh Phuc, Vietnam, Vinh Phuc Hall
BRA-KAZ 27 June 14:00
TUR-GER 27 June 16:30
KAZ-GER 28 June 14:00
BRA-TUR 28 June 16:30
TUR-KAZ 29 June 14:00
GER-BRA 29 June 16:30
Pool E: Wroclaw, Poland, Centennial Hall
POL-DOM 27 June 17:30
THA-USA 27 June 20:00
POL-THA 28 June 15:00
USA-DOM 28 June 17:30
POL-USA 29 June 15:00
DOM-THA 29 June 17:30
Pool F: Hong Kong, Hong Kong Coliseum
ITA-JPN 27 June 17:00
CHN-CUB 27 June 20:00
CUB-ITA 28 June 13:15
CHN-JPN 28 June 15:45
JPN-CUB 29 June 13:15
CHN-ITA 29 June 15.45
Third weekend: July 4-6
Pool G: Bangkok, Thailand, Huamark Stadium
THA-KAZ 04 July 14:00
CUB-GER 04 July 17:00
GER-THA 05 July 14:00
KAZ-CUB 05 July 17:00
THA-CUB 06 July 14:00
GER-KAZ 06 July 17:00
Pool H: Taipei, Chinese Taipei, Hsinchuang Gym
USA-POL 04 July 15:00
ITA-TUR 04 July 18:20
USA-TUR 05 July 15:00
ITA-POL 05 July 17:00
POL-TUR 06 July 15:00
ITA-USA 06 July 17:00
Pool I: Macau, Macau Forum
BRA-DOM 04 July 18:00
CHN-JPN 04 July 21:00
BRA-JPN 05 July 14:00
CHN-DOM 05 July 17:00
DOM-JPN 06 July 13:00
CHN-BRA 06 July 16:00
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