FIVB President Celebrates Historic Global Partnership

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, February 5, 2021 - FIVB President Dr Ary S Graça F° today discussed the FIVB’s historic partnership with CVC Capital Partners and how it will benefit all members of the global Volleyball Family during his President’s Report at the 37th FIVB World Congress.

The report on the future of volleyball follows the FIVB’s game-changing launch of Volleyball World earlier this week, a new partnership which will drive innovation, growth and investment in volleyball around the globe.

The FIVB President began his address to the global Volleyball Family by reiterating his promise to the global Volleyball Family:

“When I became your President in 2012, I promised to work tirelessly with you and to revolutionise our sport, bringing opportunities and innovation to volleyball. I promised to elevate volleyball to the place it deserves to be: one of the biggest sports in the world.

The launch of Volleyball World represents a significant step towards achieving the President’s promise and vision for volleyball. With these new financial resources, the FIVB will invest in volleyball to prepare a big wave of improvement and development across the sport.

“This is a unique opportunity and historic achievement for volleyball, and one that will elevate volleyball to new professional standards and bring future commercial opportunities for our sport.  This is a completely innovative and modern partnership among the International Federations. It will benefit our athletes, our fans and of course you, our National Federations,” said the FIVB President.

The FIVB’s commitment to taking volleyball to the next level through unique opportunities was also highlighted in IOC President Thomas Bach’s video message to the Congress, in which he stated:

“The launch of Volleyball World, your new commercial initiative, is only the most recent example of how the FIVB is seizing opportunities. At the same time, you retain your role as regulator of your sport and its values. This is extremely important, not only for you, but for the entire Olympic Movement.”

In his message, the IOC President also commended the FIVB’s tireless efforts to develop and advance volleyball worldwide, especially during these challenging times.

“Time and again, the FIVB has demonstrated the ability to adapt, ensuring that your sport is ready to face the challenges of a fast-changing world. The strong standing of volleyball in Olympic sport today, is certainly thanks to the important work of all of you. But, in particular, thanks to the vision and dedication of your President Ary S Graça F°,” said IOC President Bach.

The Congress also heard from CVC Head of Sports, Media and Entertainment, Nick Clarry, who said:

“This project was a long journey of due diligence and frankly, very tough negotiations, and it is fantastic that we are now partners and can start to execute our plan. Our plan is to work together at Volleyball World to help the FIVB achieve its full potential. To build the events for players and fans, with host city, ticketing and hospitality revenues, and to develop better accessibility and fan engagement for volleyball around the world via data and consumer channels.”

In addition, FIVB President Dr Ary S Graça F° gave the floor to former FIVB Secretary General and current Volleyball World Chairman Fernando Lima, who said:

 “In our research, we found out, together with the CVC, that we have a worldwide fan base of more than 800 million people. If we combine our existing number of subscribers across all digital platforms, we only have 9.3 million subscribers. That explains why in the FIVB we wanted to create a process to accelerate growth. We are barely touching 1 per cent of our fan base. In the partnership now with CVC, and by creating Volleyball World, we are sure we can accelerate the speed and reach for those hundreds of millions of fans and bring them all to the Volleyball Family. So we foresee a bright future ahead!”

Volleyball World CEO Finn Taylor, who was previously the head of Cirque du Soleil’s Global Touring show business overseeing significant geographic expansion and growth, also addressed the Congress via video message, stating:

“Since starting this project I’m filled with nothing but admiration for what has been achieved by the teams to date. And I’m excited by the opportunity which lies in front of us. The ability to connect our amazing sport with the fans and the partners and the world, so that we can be able to grow the sport for the future. I want to take a moment to thank President Dr Ary S Graça F°, Fabio Azevedo, Fernando Lima, as well as the CVC team, for entrusting me with this opportunity. And I look forward to working with you in the future to be able to grow volleyball for everybody.”

During his report, the FIVB President also took delegates through the FIVB’s journey over the last 73 years. In particular, he highlighted the success and innovation in volleyball over the past few years due to the right decisions taken by the FIVB leadership and Board of Administration.