FIVB Volleyball World Cup

FIVB Volleyball World Cup

120px Logo FIVB Volleyball World Cup
Sport	Volleyball
Founded	1965
Inaugural season	M: 1965 W: 1973
No. of teams	12
Countries	FIVB member nations
Continent	International (FIVB)
Most recent champion(s)	M: United States (2nd title) W: China (4th title)
Most titles	M: Russia (6 titles) W: Cuba China (4 titles each)

The FIVB Volleyball World Cup is an international men's and women's volleyball competition. Created in 1965 (men) and 1973 (women), it is an international qualification event for the Olympic Games. It is not to be confused with the World Championship or the World League/World Grand Prix.

History

Origins

The World Cup was created in 1965 with the purpose of partially filling the gap between the two most important volleyball tournaments, the Olympic Games and the World Championship, which take place in alternating 4-year cycles. The establishment of a third international competition would leave only one in every four years with no major events.

The World Cup was to be held in the year following the Olympic Games. The first two tournaments were for men's volleyball only; in 1973, a women's tournament was also introduced. Originally, each tournament had a different host, but in 1977 the competition was transferred to Japan on a permanent basis.

In the 1990s, the installment of annual international events such as the World League and the Grand Prix made the original motivations for the creation of the World Cup obsolete. Instead of letting a consolidated event disappear for lack of interest, the FIVB decided to change its format in 1991: it would be held in the year preceding, and not following, the Olympic Games; and it would be considered a first international Olympic qualification tournament, granting the winner a direct berth in the games.

This move saved the competition. The possibility of securing an early berth for the Olympic Games, thus avoiding extraneous and in some cases tight continental qualification procedures, became a consistent motivation for the national federations to participate in the World Cup. In 1995, the number of Olympic spots granted at the competition was increased to three, as it remained until 2011. In 2015 the number of spots was only two again.

Winners (Men)

Former Soviet Union and Brazil (2007) managed to win the Men's World Cup more than once. The Soviets took the gold at the opening edition of the tournament, in 1965. Four years later, the winner was also a socialist nation, East Germany. Brazil's team won consecutively 2003 and 2007.

Scheduled for Uruguay, the men's events of the 1973 edition were cancelled. In 1977, competition was resumed in Japan, and the USSR came back for two wins in a row. In 1985, they were once again runner-ups, but lost the decisive match to USA in five sets. In 1989, Cuba surprised the world and beat a rising Italy to take the gold.

With the competition now set as a qualifying event for the Olympic Games, Soviet Union, led by Dmitri Fomin won the title in 1991, at the brink of dissolution. The Italians, who hadn't participated in this edition, finally conquered their gold medal in 1995.

Inheriting a large part of the former Soviet volleyball programme, Russia was the winner in 1999. In the following two editions, played in 2003 and 2007 respectively, were won by favorite Brazil.

In 2011, the world champion Russia regained the title by defeating Poland.

Winners (Women)

The Women's World Cup has had not one great winner, like its counterpart for men's volleyball, but two: Cuba and China.

The first edition of the tournament was won by the Soviet Union. Japan, the runner-up of 1973, took the gold in 1977. With the help of superstar player Lang Ping, China won the following two editions, in 1981 and 1985.

Then Cuba stepped forward to begin its amazing World Cup career, winning its first title in 1989. With the tournament now as an Olympic qualifier, there followed three more consecutive victories, in 1991, 1995 and 1999.

China came back in 2003 with a remarkably offensive team to win its third title.

Finally Italy won the 2007 edition with an outstanding record of eleven wins in eleven games and only two sets left to the opponents (both lost against Serbia). Italy took a second win in a row in 2011, getting the better hand on United States and China.

Competition formula

The World Cup is the most stable from all competition formulas employed by the FIVB. The following rules apply:

• The competition takes place in Japan.
• Twelve teams participate in each event: ten qualified, two per invitation.
  • Japan is always pre-qualified as host nation.
  • The winner of the FIVB World Championships in the previous year is automatically granted a spot.
  • The champion and runner-up of each continental tournament of that year is granted a spot.
  • Since the 1999 edition, only teams not yet qualified for the following Olympic Games can compete in the World Cup.
• The competition is divided in exactly two phases (called "legs").
  • Teams are divided in two pools.
    • At the first leg, each team plays one match against all other teams in its pool.
  • At the second leg, each team plays one match against all the teams in the other pool.
  • Matches take place continuously through two weeks, with one-day breaks every two or three days. Each day, six matches are played.
  • Final standings are calculated by usual volleyball criteria: match points, numbers of matches won, sets ratio (the total number of sets won divided by the total number of sets lost), points ratio, direct confrontation.
• Top two teams in overall standings, regardless of pools, qualify for the following Olympic Games.
• The tournament implements very tight line-up restrictions: only twelve players are allowed, and no replacement is permitted, even in the case of injuries.

Results

Men

Year	Host		Final				3rd place match				Number of teams
			Champions	Score	Runners-up		3rd place	Score	4th place
1965 Details	Poland		Soviet Union	Round-robin	Poland		Czechoslovakia	Round-robin	Japan		11
1969 Details	East Germany		East Germany	Round-robin	Japan		Soviet Union	Round-robin	Bulgaria		12
1977 Details	Japan		Soviet Union	Round-robin	Japan		Cuba	Round-robin	Poland		12
1981 Details	Japan		Soviet Union	Round-robin	Cuba		30x27px Brazil	Round-robin	Poland		8
1985 Details	Japan		United States	Round-robin	Soviet Union		Czechoslovakia	Round-robin	30x27px Brazil		8
1989 Details	Japan		Cuba	Round-robin	Italy		Soviet Union	Round-robin	United States		8
1991 Details	Japan		Soviet Union	Round-robin	Cuba		United States	Round-robin	Japan		12
1995 Details	Japan		Italy	Round-robin	Netherlands		Brazil	Round-robin	United States		12
1999 Details	Japan		Russia	Round-robin	Cuba		Italy	Round-robin	United States		12
2003 Details	Japan		Brazil	Round-robin	Italy		Serbia and Montenegro	Round-robin	United States		12
2007 Details	Japan		Brazil	Round-robin	Russia		Bulgaria	Round-robin	United States		12
2011 Details	Japan		Russia	Round-robin	Poland		Brazil	Round-robin	Italy		12
2015 Details	Japan		United States	Round-robin	Italy		Poland	Round-robin	Russia		12
2019 Details	Japan			Round-robin				Round-robin			12

Women

Year	Host		Final				3rd place match				Number of teams
			Champions	Score	Runners-up		3rd place	Score	4th place
1973 Details	Uruguay		Soviet Union	3–0	Japan		South Korea	3–0	Peru		10
1977 Details	Japan		Japan	Round-robin	Cuba		South Korea	Round-robin	China		8
1981 Details	Japan		China	Round-robin	Japan		Soviet Union	Round-robin	United States		8
1985 Details	Japan		China	Round-robin	Cuba		Soviet Union	Round-robin	Japan		8
1989 Details	Japan		Cuba	Round-robin	Soviet Union		China	Round-robin	Japan		8
1991 Details	Japan		Cuba	Round-robin	China		Soviet Union	Round-robin	United States		12
1995 Details	Japan		Cuba	Round-robin	Brazil		China	Round-robin	Croatia		12
1999 Details	Japan		Cuba	Round-robin	Russia		Brazil	Round-robin	South Korea		12
2003 Details	Japan		China	Round-robin	Brazil		United States	Round-robin	Italy		12
2007 Details	Japan		Italy	Round-robin	Brazil		United States	Round-robin	Cuba		12
2011 Details	Japan		Italy	Round-robin	United States		China	Round-robin	Japan		12
2015 Details	Japan		China	Round-robin	Serbia		United States	Round-robin	Russia		12
2019 Details	Japan			Round-robin				Round-robin			12

Medals summary

Men

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Russia *	6	2	2	10
2	Brazil	2	0	3	5
3	United States	2	0	1	3
4	Cuba	1	3	1	5
	Italy	1	3	1	5
6	Germany ^	1	0	0	1
7	Poland	0	2	1	3
8	Japan	0	2	0	2
9	Netherlands	0	1	0	1
10	Czech Republic #	0	0	2	2
11	Bulgaria	0	0	1	1
	Serbia &	0	0	1	1
Total		13	13	13	39

Women

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Cuba	4	2	0	6
2	China	4	1	3	8
3	Italy	2	0	0	2
4	Russia *	1	2	3	6
5	Japan	1	2	0	3
6	Brazil	0	3	1	4
7	United States	0	1	3	4
8	Serbia	0	1	0	1
9	South Korea	0	0	2	2
Total		12	12	12	36

* = FIVB considers Russia (Since 1993) as the inheritor of the records of Soviet Union (1948–1991) and CIS (1992).

^ = After German reunification, West Germany (1949–1990) was renamed Germany (Since 1991) and they absorbed East Germany (1949–1990) with the records.

^# = FIVB considers Czech Republic (Since 1994) as the inheritor of the records of Czechoslovakia (1948–1993).

^& = FIVB considers Serbia (Since 2007) as the inheritor of the records of SFR Yugoslavia (1948–1991), FR Yugoslavia (1992–2002) and Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006).

Performance by team

Men

Team	1965 (11)	1969 (12^)	1977 (12)	1981 (8)	1985 (8)	1989 (8)	1991 (12)	1995 (12)	1999 (12)	2003 (12)	2007 (12)	2011 (12)	2015 (12)	Total
Algeria	-	-	-	-	-	-	9th	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Argentina	-	-	-	-	5th	-	-	7th	9th	-	7th	7th	5th	6
Australia	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8th	-	9th	2
Brazil	-	6th	8th	3rd	4th	5th	6th	3rd	5th	1st	1st	3rd	-	11
Bulgaria	9th	4th	6th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3rd	-	-	4
Cameroon	-	-	-	-	-	8th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Canada	-	-	12th	-	-	-	-	10th	8th	7th	-	-	7th	5
Chile	-	-	-	-	-	-	12th	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
China	-	-	5th	5th	-	-	-	9th	11th	10th	-	11th	-	6
Cuba	-	9th	3rd	2nd	-	1st	2nd	6th	2nd	-	-	5th	-	8
Czech Republic*	3rd	5th	-	-	3rd	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
Egypt	-	-	11th	-	8th	-	-	11th	-	12th	10th	12th	10th	7
France	11th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5th	-	-	-	2
Germany^	5th	1st	-	-	-	-	7th	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
Hungary	7th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Iran	-	-	-	-	-	-	11th	-	-	-	-	9th	8th	3
Italy	-	-	-	7th	-	2nd	-	1st	3rd	2nd	-	4th	2nd	7
Japan	4th	2nd	2nd	6th	6th	6th	4th	5th	10th	9th	9th	10th	6th	13
Mexico	-	-	9th	-	-	-	10th	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
Netherlands	10th	-	-	-	-	-	-	2nd	-	-	-	-	-	2
Poland	2nd	8th	4th	4th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2nd	3rd	6
Puerto Rico	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6th	-	-	1
Romania	6th	7th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
Russia#	1st	3rd	1st	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	-	1st	-	2nd	1st	4th	11
Serbia&	8th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3rd	-	8th	-	3
South Korea	-	-	7th	-	7th	7th	5th	8th	7th	6th	11th	-	-	8
Spain	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6th	-	5th	-	-	2
Tunisia	-	11th	-	8th	-	-	8th	12th	12th	11th	12th	-	12th	9
United States	-	-	10th	-	1st	4th	3rd	4th	4th	4th	4th	6th	1st	10
Venezuela	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8th	-	-	11th	2

* = FIVB considers Czech Republic (Since 1994) as the inheritor of the records of Czechoslovakia (1948–1993).

^ = After German reunification, West Germany (1949–1990) was renamed Germany (Since 1991) and they absorbed East Germany (1949–1990) with the records.

In 1969 both East Germany (champion) and West Germany (10th) participated and a East Germany junior team also (finished 12th).

# = FIVB considers Russia (Since 1993) as the inheritor of the records of Soviet Union (1948–1991) and CIS (1992).

^& = FIVB considers Serbia (Since 2007) as the inheritor of the records of SFR Yugoslavia (1948–1991), FR Yugoslavia (1992–2002) and Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006).

Women

Team	1973 (10)	1977 (8)	1981 (8)	1985 (8)	1989 (8)	1991 (12)	1995 (12)	1999 (12)	2003 (12)	2007 (12)	2011 (12)	2015 (12)	Total
Algeria	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	11th	12th	2
Argentina	8th	-	-	-	-	-	-	11th	11th	-	10th	8th	5
Brazil	9th	-	8th	6th	-	8th	2nd	3rd	2nd	2nd	5th	-	9
Bulgaria	-	-	7th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Canada	7th	-	-	-	8th	10th	9th	-	-	-	-	-	4
China	-	4th	1st	1st	3rd	2nd	3rd	5th	1st	-	3rd	1st	10
Croatia	-	-	-	-	-	-	4th	8th	-	-	-	-	2
Cuba	5th	2nd	6th	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	6th	4th	-	9th	11
Dominican Republic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10th	9th	8th	7th	4
Egypt	-	-	-	-	-	-	12th	-	12th	-	-	-	2
Germany*	-	-	-	-	6th	9th	-	-	-	-	6th	-	3
Hungary	-	6th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Italy	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7th	4th	1st	1st	-	4
Japan	2nd	1st	2nd	4th	4th	7th	6th	6th	5th	7th	4th	5th	12
Kenya	-	-	-	-	-	12th	11th	-	-	12th	12th	10th	5
Netherlands	-	-	-	-	-	-	8th	-	-	-	-	-	1
Peru	4th	5th	-	5th	5th	5th	10th	10th	-	11th	-	11th	9
Poland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8th	6th	-	-	2
Russia^	1st	8th	3rd	3rd	2nd	3rd	-	2nd	-	-	-	4th	8
Serbia	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5th	7th	2nd	3
South Korea	3rd	3rd	5th	7th	7th	6th	5th	4th	9th	8th	9th	6th	12
Spain	-	-	-	-	-	11th	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Thailand	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10th	-	-	1
Tunisia	-	-	-	8th	-	-	-	12th	-	-	-	-	2
Turkey	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7th	-	-	-	1
United States	6th	7th	4th	-	-	4th	7th	9th	3rd	3rd	2nd	3rd	10
Uruguay	10th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1

* = After German reunification, West Germany (1949–1990) was renamed Germany (Since 1991) and they absorbed East Germany (1949–1990) with the records.

^ = FIVB considers Russia (Since 1993) as the inheritor of the records of Soviet Union (1948–1991) and CIS (1992).

See also

• Volleyball at the Summer Olympics
• FIVB Volleyball World Championship
• FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup
• FIVB Volleyball World League
• FIVB World Grand Prix
• List of indoor volleyball World Champions
• List of indoor volleyball world medalists

External links

• Official FIVB website