FIVB President Wei launches a new era for volleyball in Madrid
Madrid, September 27, 2008. The representatives of 51 out of 55 National Federations affiliated to the CEV resumed today at the Melia Castilla Hotel in Madrid for the XXIX CEV General Assembly. CEV President André Meyer welcomed the audience and opened the summit expressing his sincere thanks to the Royal Spanish Volleyball Federation for the perfect organization of the event which marks a precious opportunity for analyzing the past achievements of the European volleyball community and setting up the steps and goals for the years to come.
Mr. Agustin Martin Santos, President of the Royal Spanish Volleyball Federation, took the floor and welcomed all the guests to the Spanish capital city, which is currently bidding for the organization of the 2016 Olympics. A special remark was devoted to FIVB President, Mr. Jizhong Wei, who also joined for the first time the General Assembly of a Continental Confederation after having been appointed to head the governing body of international volleyball. “I am sure you will all be able to realize that Mr. Wei is an extremely nice person, with a lot of ideas, keen to the compromise, and he is for sure going to strengthen the interaction with all the affiliated National Federations as well as the CEV”..
A couple of honorary guests attended the opening of the CEV General Assembly and namely Mrs. Maria Dolores Molina de Juan, General Director of the Spanish National Sports Council, and Mr. Alejandro Blanco Bravo, President of the Spanish Olympic Committee. They both stressed the importance of that event being staged in Madrid, a city which has been constantly playing a key role in organizing major sport events, and the precious contribution the Royal Spanish Volleyball Federation is bringing both at national and international level.
All the guests were totally seeking for the much awaited contribution of newly appointed FIVB President, Mr. Jizhong Wei. Of course he opened with special greetings devoted to the local host, asserting that Spain is well known for being a sport-developed country and recalling sweet memories of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. And then he definitely surprised the audience with a strong statement: “I am absolutely convinced that I will not serve as FIVB President for 20 years, I want to reassure you that I will stay for 4 years only. And please, in the case I change my mind, do not vote me at the next elections!”
After that “bomb”, he expressed a series of appreciations for the way the CEV has been working for the promotion of volleyball all over Europe. Moreover, he also put an end to some frictions that arose over the past months after the FIVB launched the proposal to restrict the number of foreign players to be lined up in clubs competitions. “CEV is a very active and dynamic Confederation. As FIVB President I am totally aware that the CEV is operating in a very specific environment, which derives from a specific political system governing that area. This does not interfere with the general interests of the FIVB; I can tell you even more, the FIVB has to respect that peculiarity provided by the European Union and the co-operation between our organization has to be strictly bilateral, this means FIVB has to co-operate with the CEV and vice versa. FIVB does not have any interest in firing up a fight with the European institutions; our interaction has to start from a win-win perspective, we are working for the interests of both parties, there is not somebody who is expected to win and a second party that is going to lose”. He then added: “I would like to clarify the way I conceive the role of international sport organizations such as the FIVB and the CEV. We are international non governmental organizations which do not have to interfere with the political dynamics; we are part of the civil society and therefore we can not conceive ourselves as actors dominating the field from a certain top to the low. FIVB and CEV – along with the single National Federations – are sharing the same goals, even though with different responsibilities.. I can tell you that I rely on the Continental Confederations because they know their affiliated members much better than FIVB”.
Mr. Wei really intends to change the way FIVB has been interacting with both the Continental Confederations and the National Federations. “You will all be expected to play a much more important role than in the past, be aware that FIVB respects the right of all National Federations to freely express their opinions on the various topics related to volleyball competitions. And much more, you are also entitled to criticize the FIVB President, which is the very first that has to be constantly controlled and supervised by his partners”. The Wei’s revolution is announced and will feature a series of trademarks which might completely change the face of FIVB as well as of the way volleyball is internationally governed: “I do not want to establish my authority by showing a certain power, I want the FIVB and myself to serve you all according to a win-win politics. I am absolutely convinced that my authority will then derive from the satisfaction you feel about the way FIVB is serving and helping you all”.
What else might we expect? Mr. Wei expressively describes his future efforts stating that “I do not like personal power, I think that we might apply the same principles you always find in mechanics, with various tools contributing to generating a real harmony and good functioning. So my intention is to strengthen the role of the FIVB Executive Committee”.
And the audience was totally astonished as he came to an end with his speech: “If I do not attend the goals I have been describing, and that might only descend from the intention to develop something through mutual help and consultation, you’ll have the right to ask for my resignation”. A very long applause followed Mr. Wei’s speech, which we expect will be remembered as the starting point of a totally new era for the international volleyball community.
In a private conversation right after the end of the General Assembly, Mr. Wei added: “If I have a look at the various Continental Confederations existing within the FIVB, the CEV is certainly – at least for the time being – the Confederation which guarantees the most relevant contribution to our activities. Coming back to the way I would like to re-organize the interaction between the FIVB and the Continental Federations, my aim is to create a pyramidal structure which starts from the FIVB and proceeds with the Continental Confederations and finally comes to the single National Federations, and not vice versa as it was in the past. Finally, right after the Congress, I have the impression that the CEV Board is working very well, all the problems that may arise all over Europe are properly discussed and managed by the Board and that ensured a smooth run of the General Assembly”.
Volleyball Ergebnisse und Tabellen
Auf der Seite www.volley.de findest Du Tabellen und Ergebnisse aller Ligen.
» Tabellen und Ergebnisse anzeigen
