MaltaMedia.com

The Malta Volleyball Association has won the bid to organise one of the Sub-Zonal Groups of the new C.E.V. Continental Beach Volleyball Cup, which is the first stage of the F.I.V.B. Beach Volleyball World Cup.

This competition will take place over three years, between August 2010 and July 2012, and will be one of the routes qualifying teams for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Both the European (C.E.V.) and International Volleyball Confederations (F.I.V.B.) expect the number of countries normally involved in international beach volley to jump up from around 120 to 150, thus continuing to increase its popularity around the world.

The Sub-Zonal Group A will be played at Golden Bay, Mellieha between the third and fifth September 2010. The four countries participating, namely Switzerland, Great Britain, Denmark and Malta, will take part in both the Men’s and Ladies’ sections. This group will be played in a country vs country best of five matches’ format, with each country participating with 2 teams per gender. In case of a tie after the first four matches, a ‘Golden Set’ will be played to decide the winner of that encounter.

The President of Malta Volleyball Association, Mr. Branko Vlahovic, commented very positively about this opportunity given to the local association. “We are very proud that C.E.V. has entrusted us with the organisation of such a high level tournament. This is the highest level event ever organised by our Association and it is the first step in our plans to make Malta an International Beach Volleyball hub. We believe that we, as a country and as association, have all the right conditions for the organisation of similar tournaments but also, and maybe more importantly, for teams’ training camps throughout the year with obvious benefits for our sport and our economy. Our plans for annual international tournaments commencing in 2011 have been seen very positively by CEV and all of us in the Malta Volleyball Association are determined to take full advantage of that.”

Mr. Vlahovic also thanked Mr. Clyde Puli, Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sports, Mr. Robert Cutajar, Mellieha Mayor, the Ministry for Works and the Malta Tourism Authority whose support in this venture is crucial.