EXCITING!
The FIVB confirms that the Group 1 Final Round of the 2016 FIVB Grand Prix will be hosted by Thailand.
Bulgaria will host Group 2 while Kazakhstan will do the hosting duties for Group 3.
Per FIVB:
The three FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix Group Finals in 2016 will take place in Thailand, Bulgaria and Kazakhstan. The competition will reach its climax when six teams play the Group 1 Finals in Bangkok, Thailand from July 6-10. The Group 2 Finals will take place in Bulgaria from June 17-19 at a venue to be confirmed. Kazakhstan will host the Group 3 Finals on the same weekend, also at a venue to be confirmed.
The Group 1 Finals in Bangkok will see hosts Thailand take on the five best ranked teams from the Group 1 Intercontinental Round. The Finals will feature two pools of three teams – pool play will be followed by semifinals and finals.
In the Group 2 and 3 Finals, hosts Bulgaria and Kazakhstan will take on the top three teams from the Group 2 and 3 Intercontinental Rounds respectively. In each case, the four teams participating will play semifinals and finals.
Next year’s edition of the premier annual competition for women’s national teams will feature 28 teams. The competition will run over a period of six weeks from June 3 through to July 19.
Group 1
Group 1 includes: USA (2015 winners), Russia, Brazil, China, Italy, Japan, Germany, Serbia, Thailand, Belgium, Turkey, the Netherlands (promoted from Group 2).
Group 2
Group 2 includes: the Dominican Republic (relegated from Group 1), Poland, the Czech Republic, Puerto Rico, Bulgaria, Canada, Argentina, Kenya (promoted from Group 3).
Group 3
Group 3 includes: Croatia (relegated from Group 2), Peru, Colombia, Australia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Mexico.
In 2015, the United States became the first team to win the World Grand Prix on home soil, after a sweep of their matches in the Finals in Omaha, Nebraska. USA’s Karsta Lowe, who finished the tournament with 77 points, received the Most Valuable Player award. Click here to read more.
(images: FIVB)