Lausanne, Switzerland, May 6, 2014.  Brazil’s Molico OSASCO could make history as the first team ever to win the prestigious FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship title twice when the tournament is held for the eighth time from May 7 through 11 in Zurich, Switzerland.  

The finalist from the South American Championship has a wild card to thank for the opportunity to compete in this championship, which features six of the top teams from around the world.  Only African champions GS Petroliers (GSP) ALGIERS of Algeria, who were awarded the tournament’s second wild card, are seen as outsiders.  They are joined at the FIVB Women’s Club World Championship by European hosts Volero ZÜRICH, the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League winners Dinamo KAZAN from Russia, the 2014 South American women’s club championship winners SESI-SP SAO PAULO from Brazil and the winners of the Asian club championship Hisamitsu Springs KOBE from Japan.

Molico will face two of these title contenders in the preliminary pool.  After the opening match against Hisamitsu Springs at 17:30 local time on Wednesday (Volero will take on SESI-SP at 20:00), one of the hot favorites to win the tournament awaits in the preliminary round, in the form of Dinamo KAZAN.  Spearheaded by the outstanding attacker Ekaterina Gamova, the Russians are also aiming to make history for never before has a team from the reigning World Champion nation won the FIVB Women’s Club World Championship.

The final of the Champions League saw Dinamo complete a commanding 3:0 victory over defending champions VakifBank ISTANBUL – the very team that won the FIVB Women’s Club World Championship in Zurich in 2013.

“We are the champions of Europe and we want to try to become the champions of the world,” MVP Gamova said at the time.  However, Dinamo have had a busy build-up to the big championship.  Coach Rishat Gilyazutdinov’s players qualified for the final of the Russian championship with three victories against semi-final opponents Dinamo KRASNODAR.

The team, led by Gamova and USA’s Jordan Quinn Larson-Burbach, arrives at the championship in top form and is looking to become the eighth club to go down in the roll of honor.

The FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship has had seven different winners from four different countries.  Brazil has been represented on the winner’s podium three times, Turkey twice, while Azerbaijan and Italy have had clubs climb onto the top step of the podium once each.

Hosts Volero confirmed their status as the best Swiss women’s volleyball team, winning their ninth national title in 10 years.  The squad from Zurich is undefeated in 78 matches in Switzerland, with their last loss more than two years ago in January 2012 in Neuchâtel.  The team came fourth at the 2013 FIVB Women’s Club World Championships and fifth at the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League, but with Mira Golubovic captaining a constellation of international stars it has its sights set on a podium spot this time round.

FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça F° emphasised the importance of the FIVB Club World Championships, which is set to begin on Tuesday with the best men’s club teams in the world meeting in Belo Horizonte to play for the title.

“There is a different dynamic to club volleyball, which is not a surprise given that each team brings together players from various cultures and backgrounds.  Each player knows that they have to work with their teammates, regardless of their individual style and technique, to attain the best possible result for the team as a whole,” said Graça.  "With that work ethic, it is not surprising that the Club World Championships have launched the careers of many athletes who have used this level of competition to hone their skills and techniques, which also translate well to their national team endeavors.  The FIVB has the perfect recipe to encourage the development and growth of clubs right around the world."