Sada Cruzeiro have hosted the last three FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championships, winning the 2013 edition in front of their home fans
Lausanne, Switzerland, February 24, 2015 – The FIVB is pleased to confirm that the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship 2015 will take place from October 27 to November 1, with Brazilian club Sada Cruzeiro hosting the annual tournament for the third year in a row in Belo Horizonte.
The 11th edition of the Men’s Club World Championship will see eight of the world’s top clubs travel to one of volleyball’s heartlands.
Belogorie Belgorod won last year’s tournament, marking the first time a Russian team had won gold in the competition.
UPCN San Juan of Argentina are the only team to have qualified for the tournament so far. They booked their berth after beating none other than Sada Cruzeiro to the 2015 South American Men’s Club Championship in five sets on February 15. UPCN also beat Sada Cruzeiro to the bronze medal at last year’s edition of the Men’s Club World Championship so will be hoping history repeats itself in 2015 as they strive for a top three place.
Sada Cruzeiro will be eager to return to the podium of the Men’s Club World Championship for the first time since 2013, when they won the tournament. They currently lead the Brazilian Superliga by 10 points and will be aiming to take their domestic form to the world stage in October.
Both teams will likely face stiff competition from at least one of Europe’s top sides, with the eventual winners of the CEV DenizBank Volleyball Men’s Champions League also qualifying for the Men’s Club World Championship. There are currently six teams battling it out for a place in the Final Four of the tournament, set to be hosted by Berlin Recycling in Germany, with the eventual champions crowned on March 29.
The winner of the 2015 African Men’s Club Championship, which takes place from March 5-17, will also earn a berth to the tournament. Last year it was Esperance of Tunisia who represented the continent, but they struggled to make an impact, failing to win a set throughout the competition.
NORCECA and Asia will both also have representatives at the tournament, with three wildcards to be decided later in the year completing the line-up.
The FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship was first held in 1989 and ran until 1992. The tournament was resurrected in 2009 with Italian club Trentino winning the first four editions. Sada Cruzeiro broke their grasp on the trophy in 2013 before Belogorie Belgorod added their name to the honours list last year.