Women's Club World Championship 2022 - News

Giovanni Guidetti celebrates at the 2021 Club World Championship

Guidetti celebrates at the 2021 Club World Championship

VakifBank Spor Kulubu have announced a three-year contract extension with Giovanni Guidetti. The announcement was made on the eve of the Women's Club World Champs, set to take place from December 14 to 18 in Antalya, which will see the renowned Italian coach lead the titleholders as they aim to defend their world title. Guidetti has been at the helm of the Yellow-and-Blacks from Istanbul for over 14 years.

“I would like to thank all my players, my technical staff and our management who trusted me, who have kept me at VakifBank, at the top of the world for all these years. We have a common philosophy with our club. And that's the idea - that what makes a team great is commitment to club culture and values. It is a great honour for me to continue and develop this culture,” the 50-year-old said.

Under Guidetti, VakifBank have won four club world titles, five CEV Champions League crowns and seven national championship titles, in addition to five Türkiye Cup and four Türkiye Super Cup trophies, among many other medals in these competitions.

Just recently, Giovanni Guidetti was honoured in Türkiye with the GQ Men of the Year Equality Award for his social responsibility project ‘Sultans of Tomorrow’.

“We are grateful for Guidetti’s services and want to continue working with him for many more years,” VakifBank president Abdi Serdar Ustunsalih said. “He is one of the building blocks of the VakifBank family. He has had a lot of success with us and we have no doubt that together we will bring many more trophies to our country.”

VakifBank, who have made the podium at all seven of their previous Club World Championship appearances, all under Guidetti’s guidance, are about to get their eighth campaign underway in Antalya with a Pool B match against Asian club champions Kuanysh Club from Petropavl, Kazakhstan on Wednesday at 19:30 local time (16:30 UTC).