First and foremost, a news report was published over a day ago that former Cuban national team player, Leal, has been approved to play for Brazil starting next year.
Unforunately, the FIVB made a mistake with the date. The correct date is April 2019 according to a Brazilian news site.
Volleyball in 2019 will be very interesting mainly because another former Cuban player is expected to play for another national team. We are talking about Wilfredo Leon who is less than 2 years away from representing Poland.
Leon and Leal took the same process to be approved to play for a different country. They both had to wait 2 years after being granted citizenship as a Brazilian and as a Polish citizen. Leon did it via marriage while Leal stayed in Brazil for 5 consecutive years starting in 2012 after he left the national team.
The LAST TIME these 2 players played together was at the 2010 World Championship in Italy. Cuba lost to Brazil in the gold medal match.
We also have a feeling another former Cuban player, Osmany Juantorena, will continue playing for ITALY until the 2020 Olympics.