Taking away the organisation of the Volleyball World Championship from Russia is part of an extensive package of sporting sanctions imposed in the wake of Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine. Earlier, the Russian national team was excluded from most sports, ranging from athletics to ice hockey. Russia was also deprived of the organisation of another important event, the Champions League finals.

“Russia was to be the host of this year's Volleyball Men’s World Championship. But can you imagine a situation where everyone listens to the Russian anthem as if nothing happened? Fans chanting ‘Rossiya’, ‘Rossiya’ in the stands? And everyone watching all this as if nothing was happening while Russian troops are slaughtering Ukrainian civilians? Definitely not. This would certainly be out of place”, stressed Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.  

World’s best teams set to compete for championship title in Poland

On March 1, the International Volleyball Federation decided to take away the organisation of the Volleyball Men's World Championship from Russia. The event was scheduled to take place at the turn of August and September. By the FIVB’s decision, Poland and Slovenia have become the event’s new hosts. The final date of the Championship and all other details will be agreed upon during subsequent talks between the Polish Volleyball Federation and the FIVB.

“We must not bury our heads in the sand when terrible things are happening in Ukraine. That is why we also proposed that not only should the championship not be held in Russia, but that it should be held in Poland. We have won this race. The pace at which we will have to carry out all organisational and operational work is bound to be a record-breaking one. But after all, sport is all about breaking records. We invited Slovenia, our tried and reliable friend, to make this goal a reality”, said PM Morawiecki.

In total, this will be the 20^th edition of the Championship. The first Championship was held in 1949 in Prague and the most recent in 2018 in Italy and Bulgaria. This will be the 18^th time that the Polish national team has participated in the world championships.

Volleyball World Championship returns to Poland after 8 years

Polish fans still vividly remember the 2014 Men's World Championship hosted by our country. At that time, Poland won the championship title, with as many as 60,000 people watching the opening match at Warsaw’s National Stadium. Now, 8 years later, Poland will once again host this thrilling sports event.

The Polish national team will defend the world champion title, which they won again in 2018. In this year's tournament, the team will work under the leadership of a new coach – Nikola Grbić from Serbia. In the previous season, Grbić won the historic Champions League gold together with Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, which marked the first time a Polish club won this title since 1978.

Volleyball events in Poland – Men’s and Women’s World Championships and the Volleyball Nations League

Polish volleyball courts will also see women’s teams compete for the world champion title. Poland and the Netherlands are set to host the women’s tournament, which is scheduled for the turn of September and October.

However, this will not mark the end of this year’s volleyball events in our country, as the Volleyball Nations League, which was to be organised by the Russian city of Kemerovo, will instead take place in Gdańsk between 5 and 10 July. This event, too, was taken away from Russia due to its aggressive actions. The Volleyball Nations League will see eight teams compete for the champion title: Poland, Slovenia, Serbia, Italy, Iran, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, as well as Tunisia, which will replace the Russian national team. Moreover, the Russian city of Ufa has been stripped of its rights to organise the Volleyball Women’s Nations League, which has been transferred to Sofia, Bulgaria.

Poland supports sporting sanctions against Russia

The world of sport has not remained indifferent to Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine, Poland’s eastern neighbour. Poland itself also rejects any concessions to the Kremlin. Acting on behalf of the Polish government, the Minister of Sport and Tourism sent letters to the authorities of international sports federations, calling for the transfer of matches and events to be held in Russia to other countries, including the Volleyball Men’s World Championship.

The Polish Volleyball Federation also sent a letter to the presidents of the International Volleyball Federation and the European Volleyball Confederation. In this letter, Sebastian Świderski, President of the Polish Volleyball Federation, stated that Polish volleyball players would not play matches with Russian teams.

The Russian national team has been excluded from competing in numerous disciplines, including athletics and volleyball, as well as ski sports and ice hockey.

Apart from Russia itself losing the right to organise the Volleyball World Championships, its cities of Kemerovo and Ufa have also lost the possibility of holding the Volleyball Nations League tournament. Russian football fans and players have also been affected by the sanctions as Russia has lost the right to host the UEFA Champions League final, which was to be held in Petersburg. In addition to taking away the event from Russia, the world and European football federations decided to exclude Russian clubs and national teams from international football.

The International Judo Federation suspended Vladimir Putin’s title of its honorary president and ambassador.

Our support for Ukraine’s independence

In mid-March, Prime Minister Morawiecki, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša and other leaders went by train to meet the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as the Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The purpose of the visit was to reaffirm unequivocal support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence and to present a broad package of support for the Ukrainian state and society.

Today, Poland and Slovenia join forces to organise an international tournament side by side.

Thanks to our decisions, and thanks to the decision of the world federation, there has been a positive change, a signal to the whole world that we could not remain silent, close our eyes and pretend that nothing had happened when Russian tanks are crushing Ukrainian civilians, when they are murdering Ukrainian women and children, when they have led to huge waves of refugees. These things have happened, and we have won the battle to have the Volleyball Men's World Championship held here in Poland”, PM Morawiecki concluded.

“Our society is based on values such as respect for fair play, solidarity and integrity – these values are crucial and the whole world is calling for them to be respected”, said Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša. “These values will certainly be evident at the 2022 Volleyball World Championship”, he added.