EuroVolley 2019 Men draw in full
Brussels, Belgium, January 16, 2019. The iconic Atomium, a real landmark of Brussels and the whole Europe, provided the ideal stage for the Drawing of Lots of the history-making CEV EuroVolley 2019 Men with the 24 participating teams knowing now whom they are going to play in the pool stage of Europe’s premier Volleyball competition. The Volleyball party of the year will run from September 12 to 29 across four countries – France, Slovenia, Belgium and the Netherlands – in what is a truly unprecedented feat in the history of European Volleyball.
The tournament will start on September 12 in Montpellier, France and Ljubljana, Slovenia, with the competition getting underway one day later in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The 24 participating teams will contest five matches in their respective pools, whose composition reads as follows:
There are some extremely exciting matches coming up already in the pool phase, with Italy playing co-hosts France to extend a rivalry that has been lasting for decades, while Belgium and Serbia will be playing a repeat of the 2017 bronze medal match in Pool B in a group that includes 2017 silver medal winners Germany as well.
“I would like to wish everyone a happy New Year and good results in Volleyball. I would like to congratulate all teams on qualifying for a historic EuroVolley and especially those who did so for the first time. This is very important to develop Volleyball. Many thanks to the four hosting countries and especially to Volley Belgium for their warm welcome to this iconic place. It is not easy to organise a tournament in four countries – with another four due to take place the women’s event. We are close to finalising the organisers for the 2021 edition, meaning that in just a couple of years 16 countries will have hosted the European Championship. Let us work together to raise the status and value of Volleyball,” CEV President Aleksandar Boričić said.
“As the capital of Belgium and Europe, we thought the Atomium was the perfect place where to host this Drawing of Lots,” said the President of Volley Belgium, Guy Juwet. “Together with the colleagues from France, Slovenia and the Netherlands, we have decided to organise this tournament together and to do this with the drive and enthusiasm shown by the people from our four countries. The logo of the event shows the cooperation developed by the four countries to grow Volleyball and to do so together, while setting new standards for future organisations.”
The 24 teams competing at EuroVolley 2019 Men include the four hosting countries, eight teams as per the final standing of the 2017 edition and 12 that booked their tickets through the qualifiers that finished earlier this month. Montenegro and the Former Y.R. of Macedonia are making their first historic appearance in the competition.
The Drawing of Lots gathered more than 140 people, including the highest authorities in European Volleyball, representatives of the hosting countries and their cities, as well as of the 24 participating teams. The list of guests featured Tournament Ambassadors Frank Depestele, Bas van de Goor and Tomislav Smuc, and other Volleyball legends such as France’s head coach Laurent Tillie and Joop Alberda of the Netherlands, who coached the Dutch team to a historic Olympic gold in 1996.
