Macau, China, 3 Jul – Macau is going to be one of the host cities in the 2009 edition of the FIVB (Fédération Internacionale de Volleyball) Women’s World Grand Prix, which will have 12 national teams competing for the final to be held in Tokyo.
Brazil, China, Poland and Thailand are the national sides that are going to compete in Macau, between 7 and 9 August, in the second round, which will also have meetings in Miao Li, Taiwan, and Osaka, Japan.
“I think this round will be very interesting, because not only are we going to have the current world champions (Brazil), but we are also going to have China, which has a new team and a new coach,” José Tavares, vice-president of the Macau Sport Development Board, said on Thursday.
The women’s world volleyball championship, which was won by Brazil in 2008, with Cuba and Italy in second and third places, respectively, will this year include the national teams of Holland, Russia, Germany, Brazil, Poland, China, Thailand, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, South Korea, United States and Japan.
The first round is going to take place between the 31 July and 2 August in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil; Kielce in Poland; and Ningbo in the People’s Republic of China.
The third round will be held between 14 and 16 August in Mokpo, in South Korea; Bangkok in Thailand; and Hong Kong.
The final, scheduled to take place between 19 and 23 August, will have the top five ranked teams, as well as Japan, which has secured a spot for being the host nation.
(MacauNews)
