There have been no matches in the international volleyball world recently. With just over two years to go before the 2024 Paris Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has released a selection of qualifications for indoor volleyball at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Paris Olympics still have 12 volleyball teams competing. According to the selection method, the host French team naturally entered directly. Another 6 teams are selected through the Olympic qualification tournament, and the remaining 5 teams are determined by the world rankings.
There will be 24 teams competing in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, with the men's and women's volleyball teams in the top 24 of the world rankings. The 24 teams are divided into three groups, each with 8 teams. The competition is held in three places, with the host as the seeded player. The top two in each group qualified for the Olympics. Six Olympic teams were created.
The International Olympic Committee has announced the deadline for the world ranking of the men's and women's volleyball teams. The deadline for the men's volleyball team's world ranking is September 12, 2022, and the women's volleyball team is October 17, 2022. This point in time just finished playing this year's World Men's Volleyball Championship and the World Women's Volleyball Championship. In order to compete in the Olympic qualification tournament, the teams must be ranked in the top 24 in the world rankings. Before that there were national volleyball leagues, as well as the World Championships. The points in these two events are very high, and if the results are not good, it is likely to lead to a lower ranking.
If the Chinese women's volleyball team wants to get the opportunity to participate in the Olympic qualification tournament, it must pay attention to the World League and the World Championships. Of course, with the strength of the Chinese women's volleyball team, it is not difficult to win the Olympic qualification tournament. However, it also needs Cai Bin's attention, and can no longer use the World League as an opportunity to train troops, but also to find a way to achieve good results. It is believed that the Chinese women's volleyball team will definitely enter the top 24 and get the opportunity to participate in the Olympic qualification tournament.
However, the Chinese men's volleyball team is difficult to say. The world ranking of the Chinese men's volleyball team was originally outside the 20th place, and it gave up the 2022 national league and lost the opportunity to compete for points. Although it has qualified for the World Championships, with the strength of the men's volleyball team, it is estimated that it will be difficult to achieve a good ranking. I don't know if the world ranking will be relatively low and I can't participate in the Olympic trials.
The competition time of the men's and women's volleyball Olympic trials has been preliminarily determined. The men's volleyball team will be played from September 30 to October 8, 2023, and the women's volleyball team will be held from September 16 to 24, 2023.
Let's talk about the selection method of the remaining five teams. The remaining 5 teams are determined by the world rankings.
The remaining five teams are ranked in the world at the time of the 2024 National Volleyball League rounds. The time of the men's volleyball team is expected to be June 24, 2024, and the time of the women's volleyball team is June 17, 2024. The time span is a bit long.
But there's a special point here, which is to take the teams from continents that haven't won a seat before taking the world rankings.
This is difficult for many people to understand. In fact, it is relatively simple, that is, I want all states to have teams participating in the Olympic Games. After the first round of Olympic trials, there may be states that do not have teams qualifying for the Olympic Games, assuming that Africa does not have teams to qualify. By the time of the 2024 National Volleyball League, in addition to the host, and the six teams that have already qualified, there are no African teams in the top five of the remaining teams, then Africa's highest-ranked team will qualify for the Olympics. The other four teams are selected according to the world rankings.
If there are no teams on two continents that qualify, the two continents are selected from the highest ranked teams in the world, and the other three places are selected from the world rankings.
Judging from this selection plan, FIVB intends to increase the importance of national volleyball leagues. Fivna Fides has not only increased the number of points in the National Volleyball League, but also used the time node of the National Volleyball League as the key point in the selection of Olympic teams. The status of the national volleyball league has increased, and the status of the World Cup has decreased. In the past, the World Cup was also used as a qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games, and the top three could get Olympic places. Now it has nothing to do with the World Cup, and the World Cup has been cancelled.
And judging from this selection plan, European teams may benefit from more European teams to qualify for the Olympics.
The Chinese women's volleyball team is best to get a place in the Olympic trials, and there is no need to consider the world rankings behind. If you can't get a place in the Olympic Trials, then you need to pay attention to the national volleyball leagues in 2023 and 2024 and strive to qualify by the world rankings. Since the 1984 Olympic Games, the Chinese women's volleyball team has never missed the Olympic Games. I believe that this time will not be absent.
The Chinese men's volleyball team is difficult to say. The Chinese men's volleyball team only qualified for the 1984 and 2008 Olympic Games. The overall strength of the Chinese men's volleyball team is weak, and it is a bit difficult to participate in the Paris Olympic Games!