FIVB President Graca Re-Elected For 8 More Years

After running unopposed, Dr. Ary S. Graca was re-elected as President of FIVB – the Federation Internationale de Volleyball.

Graca will head up the international federation governing volleyball for 8 more years, from 2016 through 2024. The election took place at the 35th FIVB World Congress in Buenos Aires, Brazil earlier this month.

The 73-year-old Graca, who is originally from Brazil, was backed by all five continental confederations and was approved by 226 delegates from 201 federations, according to the FIVB release announcing his re-election. Graca originally took over the presidency in 2012 and is just the fourth president in FIVB history. France’s Paul Libaud served the first 37 years of the federation’s existence (1947-1984), followed by 24 years from Mexico’s Ruben Acosta (1984-2008) and just 4 years from China’s Wei Jizhong (2008-2012).

“Volleyball is undoubtedly in a golden era of success and it is an honour for me to have the prestigious opportunity to build on this great success and take our sport to even greater heights,” Graca said in the FIVB announcement.

“There is no limit to the evolution of volleyball, no limit to the sport’s success and no limit to how many people around the world we can inspire and I promise to help volleyball fulfill its huge potential.

“Thank you to the global volleyball family for believing in my vision, together we will make volleyball the number one family sport entertainment in the world.”