01/12/2020 14:58
Croatia poised to host 2021 women’s Challenger Cup
News from the National Federations
Zagreb/Zadar, Croatia, December 1, 2020. As announced yesterday by the FIVB (click here), the next edition of the prestigious FIVB Challenger Cup will be taking place in Zadar from June 30 to July 4, 2021 and will bring together six national teams from five continents on the floor of the Višnjik Sports Centre. Croatia is the first European country to host the women’s Challenger Cup and this will be another great opportunity to promote the country as a sports and tourist destination.
“Croatia will be the epicentre of international Volleyball next summer. Teams from all over the world are coming to Zadar. I am especially happy that the younger generations as well as all fans of this sport will have the opportunity to enjoy top-class volleyball, of course if circumstances allow. We expect the Croatian national team to do their best and I believe that if they do so, the result will follow accordingly. The sports postcard that we will send from Zadar will be a great promotion for the whole of Croatia as well. We believe that even more visitors will come to our country after this event. I invite all fans if the epidemiological situation allows to join us and to support our players as much as possible!” said the President of the Croatian Volleyball Association, Mr Ante Baković.
The Challenger Cup was due to take place this past summer, but the coronavirus pandemic resulted in its cancellation. The eventual winners will secure participation in the 2022 edition of the elite Volleyball Nations League, so this for sure will account for an exciting competition in Zadar. The tournament provides up-and-coming Volleyball nations a chance to show their quality in front of the world volleyball public. The competition will feature three teams from Europe (hosts Croatia plus the winners and runners-up of the 2021 European Golden League) and one each from NORCECA and Asia, plus one from either South America or Africa.
“We are very pleased to be able to host a competition such as the Challenger Cup, which serves as a qualifying event to enter the volleyball elite. This is definitely a tournament where we will see where we stand as a team. We hope that we will all be healthy and that the tournament will eventually go ahead. It will be a great preparation for the European Championship where we are also the hosts, and we hope that fans will be able to attend the matches as well,” said the captain of the Croatian national team, Samanta Fabris, who currently plays for Dinamo-Ak Bars KAZAN in the Russian national league and CEV Champions League.
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