Lausanne, SWITZERLAND, October 17 (fivb.ch) - FIVB $15 Million World League Calendar for 2003 announced The FIVB World League Council met Thursday at the Swiss headquarters to finalize the calendar for the 2003 World League.
Sixteen teams in four pools will play off in the Intercontinental Round matches, with Pools A, B, and C commencing on the weekend of May 23-25, with Pool D starting one week earlier (May 16-18). The Council ruled that stadium entertainment, venue decoration and the use of animated mascots would now become a requirement for the World League.
Following the success of the 2002 edition, which concluded for the
final round in Brazil in August, and drawing on elements of
promotion and entertainment also used successfully at the just
concluded 2002 Men's World Championship in Argentina, the
Council ruled that stadium entertainment, venue decoration and
the use of animated mascots would now become a requirement
for the World League.
Pools
Pool A: Russia, Poland, Spain, Venezuela
Pool B: Brazil, Italy, Portugal, Germany
Pool C: Yugoslavia, Netherlands, Cuba, China
Pool D: France, Argentina, Greece, Japan
All teams in the pool play against each other, both home and
away, during the Intercontinental Round. Top eight teams
advance to the final round.
The team of the organizing country of the Final Round will be
automatically qualified.
In case that the team of the organizing country is not among the
8 qualified teams, the lowest second ranked team of the
Intercontinental Round will be eliminated and replaced by the
organizer. Spain is the candidate country to host the final round.
Match schedule:
Pool A
May 23-25: Spain vs. Poland; Venezuela vs. Russia
May 30-June 1: Russia vs. Spain; Venezuela vs. Poland
June 6-June 8: Poland vs. Venezuela; Spain vs. Russia
June 13-15: Russia vs. Venezuela; Poland vs. Spain
June 20-22: Poland vs. Russia; Spain vs. Venezuela
June 26-28: Russia vs. Poland; Venezuela vs. Spain
Pool B
May 23-25: Brazil vs. Germany; Italy vs. Portugal
May 30 June 1: Italy vs. Brazil; Portugal vs. Germany
June 6-8: Portugal vs. Brazil; Germany vs. Italy
June 13-15: Portugal vs. Italy; Germany vs. Brazil
June 20-22: Brazil vs. Italy; Germany vs. Portugal
June 26-28: Brazil vs. Portugal; Italy vs. Germany
Pool C
May 23-25: Netherlands vs. Yugoslavia; China vs. Cuba
May 30- June 1: Yugoslavia vs. China: Netherlands vs. Cuba
June 6-8: Netherlands vs. China; Cuba vs. Yugoslavia
June 13-15: Yugoslavia vs. Cuba; China vs. Netherlands
June 20-22: Cuba vs. Netherlands; China vs. Yugoslavia
June 26-28: Yugoslavia vs. Netherlands; Cuba vs. China
Pool D
May 16-18: France vs. Argentina; Greece vs. Japan
May 23-25: France vs. Japan; Greece vs. Argentina
May 30 - June 1: Argentina vs. France; Japan vs. Greece
June 6-8: Argentina vs. Japan; Greece vs. France
June 13-15: France vs. Greece; Japan vs. Argentina
June 20-22: Argentina vs. Greece; Japan vs. France
World League finals: Tuesday July 8 - Sunday July 13 2003
