USA, Dominican Republic and Canada to play at FIVB World Cups

USA, Dominican Republic and Canada to play at FIVB World Cups

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, March 4, 2019 - The participating teams in the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men's and Women's World Cups to be held later this year have been confirmed, as host cities across Japan for the two tournaments have been announced.

The competition, which this year will not be part of the Olympic Qualification process, features, for each gender, hosts Japan, the reigning world champions, plus the top two teams from each continental confederation according to the FIVB World Rankings.

The women's competition will run from 14 to 29 September, followed by the men's event from October 1 to 15.

• Women's 2019 FIVB World Cup:
Host: Japan
World Champion: Serbia
Asia: China & Korea
Africa: Cameroon & Kenya
Europe: Russia and the Netherlands
North and Central America and Caribbean: USA & Dominican Republic
South America: Brazil & Argentina

• Men's 2019 FIVB World Cup:
Host: Japan
World Champion: Poland
Asia: Iran & Australia
Africa: Egypt & Tunisia
Europe: Italy & Russia
North and Central America and Caribbean: USA & Canada
South America: Brazil & Argentina

The two events will follow the format of previous editions, with the 12 participating teams involved in a single round-robin competition over 11 match days and with one single ranking per gender. Three games will be played at each venue each match day.

The Women's World Cup will start with groups in Yokohama (Yokohama Arena) and Hamamatsu (Hamamatsu Arena) over five match days, before teams travel to Sapporo (Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Centre) and Toyama (Toyama City Gymnasium) for three more matches. The competition wraps up in Osaka's Maruzen Intec Arena and Edion Arena.

The Men's World Cup kicks off for five match days in Fukuoka (Marinmesse) and Nagano (White Ring), before teams move to Hiroshima for the remaining six matches at the city's Green Arena.

Last time around, China claimed women's gold, followed by Serbia and USA. USA dominated the men's competition, with Italy taking silver and Poland bronze.