The Japanese Volleyball Association (JVA) and the FIVB have confirmed the venues for the 2017 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup. In an announcement last week, 3 sites across the country were announced as hosts of the 7th edition of this championship, which is the highlight of the 2017 FIVB calendar. Osaka, Tokyo, and Nagoya will be the 3 hosts cities, with Nagoya hosting both men’s and women’s rounds of play in the Nippongaishi Hall.
The event will bring together the best senior national teams in the world for the event held in every post-Olympic year. The event is always hosted by Japan and is therefore always pre-qualified to the tournament. Only the most elite qualify for the tournament, with just 6 men’s and 6 women’s teams advancing to participate. The continental champions from the continents whose teams finished highest in the previous Olympics (namely Asia, Europe, North America, and South America) earn an invite, with 1 FIVB wild card slot available.
Winners are decided based upon a single round-robin format spread across two weekends for each gender. A 3-0 or 3-1 win gets the winning team 3 points and losing team 0 points; a 3-2 match gets the winner 2 points and the loser 1 point. The team with the most points at the end of the tournament wins, with sets win/loss ratios used as the primary tie breaker.
Brazil has dominated this tournament historically, including a sweep in the last edition in 2013. The men’s team has won 4 of the 6 championships offered, while the Brazilian women are the only country to win 2 titles.
Hosts
- The Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium (capacity 10,000) will host Women’s World Grand Champions Cup matches on September 5 and 6. Tokyo is the country’s capital, largest city, and centrally located.
- Nippongaishi Hall (capacity 8,000) in Nagoya will host Women’s World Grand Championship Cup matches from September 8th-10th. Nagoya is China’s fourth-largest city, located on the Pacific coast about 200 miles west of Tokyo.
- Nippongaishi Hall (capacity 8,000) in Nagoya will host Men’s World Grand Championship Cup matches on September 12th and 13th.
- Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium (capacity 8,200) will host the second round of Men’s World Grand Championship Cup matches from September 15th-17th. Osaka is Japan’s third-largest city, and is located another 175 miles west of Nagoya, again on the Pacific coast.
Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, Capacity: 10000. Photo Courtesy: Wiiiii
Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium, Capacity 8200. Photo Courtesy: W236
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