Japan unveiled as first hosts of Olympic Qualification Tournaments

Volleyball World and the FIVB can announce that Japan is the first country to be confirmed as a host for one of the eagerly anticipated FIVB Road To Paris Volleyball Qualifier events taking place in 2023.

The country will welcome the volleyball elite as men’s and women’s teams battle for not only a place at the 2024 Olympics in Paris – but also for an event which is traditionally known as the World Cup in Japan.

With participation at Paris 2024 the ultimate goal, countries will head to Japan with the women’s competition running between 16-24 September 2023. The men’s event will follow, beginning on 30 September and finishing on 8 October 2023.

The pools, which will be filled by the serpentine system, will be revealed on 19 December while host cities for the other groups will be announced in due course.

FIVB President Dr Ary S. Graça F° said: “We are delighted to welcome Japan as the first host of an Olympic Qualification Tournament on the road to the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Japan has a long and successful history of hosting major international volleyball events and is well known for the high level of both its men’s and women’s national teams and of course for its passionate fanbase.

“I have no doubt that next year’s event, which will double up as a World Cup, will be an incredible celebration for our sport and fans all over the world.”

Finn Taylor, Volleyball World CEO, said: “Japan has for so long enjoyed such a wonderful association with our sport so for Japan to host one of the Olympic qualification events is an honor.

“The fact the event will double up as their traditional World Cup will make the tournament extra special, and we are looking forward to experiencing a wonderful event that promises to be memorable for both teams and players alike.”

Shunichi Kawai, President of the Japan Volleyball Association, said: “I am very pleased to announce the hosting of FIVB Road To Paris Volleyball Qualifier / World Cup 2023 Japan which has been our strong aspiration since 2016. Both men’s and women’s Japanese national teams did very well this season and I feel that they have ability to compete equally with the top teams of the world.

“I am very sure that they will win the tickets to Paris 2024 in front of a huge Japanese crowd. I would like to thank the FIVB for the support and everyone who were involved, including passionate Japanese fans, for making this happen. We will keep working hard for further success of this tournament.”

Olympic qualification explained

Twelve teams per gender will participate in the Olympic volleyball competition at Paris 2024. As the host nation, France, the current men’s Olympic volleyball champions, has secured its place in both the men’s and women’s competitions. The other 11 quota places per gender will be allocated via a two-step qualification process that ensures the best volleyball nations can participate at the event while observing the principle of universality.

In particular, six Olympic quota places per gender will be contested during the Olympic Qualification Tournaments where the top 24 teams as per the FIVB Volleyball Senior World Ranking (WR) not yet qualified will be split into three pools of eight teams. The top two teams of each pool will then qualify for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

The remaining five Olympic places per gender will be filled by selecting the top five not yet qualified teams in the FIVB WR as of the end of the preliminary phase of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2024. To guarantee the principle of universality, these teams will be selected as per the following order of priority: 1) The team(s) from a continent(s) without a qualified team(s) and 2) Top team(s) not yet qualified.