European Volleyball Confederation

European Volleyball Confederation

CEV logo
Formation 1963
Type Sports organization
Headquarters Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Location
Membership
57 nations
President
 Serbia Aleksandar Boricic
Website http://www.cev.lu/

The European Volleyball Confederation (French: Confédération Européenne de Volleyball or CEV) is the continental governing body for the sport of volleyball in Europe. Its headquarters are located in Luxembourg, Luxembourg.

Profile

Although the CEV was formed on October 21, 1963, in Bucharest, Romania[1] volleyball became popular in Europe many years before. The majority of the teams that attended the Congress which eventually lead to the foundation of the FIVB in 1947 were from this continent. In fact, the foundation itself is supposed to have been a move on the part of European national federations.

Volleyball was invented in the United States, but became for the first time an extremely popular sport in eastern Europe, after being introduced by American soldiers during World War I. By the middle of the century, it had already spread through the rest of the continent as well. Many techniques and tactics that are commonplace in modern volleyball have been allegedly introduced by European teams. Amongst others, it would be worthy of note here: blocking (Czechoslovakia, 1938); penetration of the setter, which eventually led to the development of the so-called 5-1 system (USSR, 1949); forearm pass (Czechoslovakia, 1958); and backrow attack (Poland, 1974).

The long and significant tradition of the sport in the continent may at least partially account for the administrative structure employed by the CEV, that rivals with the FIVB's in size and comprehensiveness. It is the biggest of all volleyball confederations, and the one that organizes the largest number of annual competitions and tournaments. As of 2005, its headquarters are located in Luxembourg, Luxembourg.

As the presiding entity over European volleyball federations, the CEV organizes continental competitions such as the prestigious European Championship (first edition, 1948), the CEV Cup and the European League. It participates in the organization of qualification tournaments for major events such as the Olympic Games or the men's and women's World Championships, and of international competitions hosted by one of its affiliated federations.

Teams

Europe is considered the strongest continent in the field of volleyball. The CEV has usually more spots reserved in international competitions than any other confederation.

Russia, which inherited most of the players and coaches from former USSR and CIS, has arguably the most stable volleyball programme, supporting top level women's and men's teams. The same may be said of Italy, although only in later years women's volleyball was fully developed in this country.

Serbia, Poland, Italy, Bulgaria and The Netherlands must also be counted as continental forces in men's volleyball. At a lower level of play, one may consider a few other teams with some tradition in this realm, such as France; and at an even lower level, but still capable of occasionally upseting stronger teams, Germany, Spain,Greece and possibly Portugal. In 2015 Slovenia made history ending in second place the 2015 European Championship.

Competition is less tough in the domain of women's volleyball. Russia, Serbia and Italy are rarely threatened by any other team in major competitions. Apart from these three, Germany, which has drawn players both from West and East Germany, may be viewed as the next most traditional European team. With more inconsistent results and often depending on the excellence of individual players, one may also take into consideration: The Netherlands, Romania and more recently Poland and Turkey.

Affiliated Federations

As of 2007, the following national federations were affiliated to the CEV:

CodeCountryFederation
ALB AlbaniaFederata Shqiptare e Volejbollit
AND AndorraFederació Andorrana de Voleibol
ARM ArmeniaVolleyball Federation of Armenia
AUT AustriaÖsterreichischer Volleyball Verband
AZE AzerbaijanAzərbaycan Voleybol Federasiyası
BLR BelarusBelarus Volleyball Federation
BEL BelgiumFédération Royale Belge de Volleyball
BIH Bosnia and HerzegovinaOdbojkaški savez Bosne i Hercegovine
BUL BulgariaBulgarska Federatsiya Volejbol
CRO CroatiaHrvatski odbojkaški savez
CYP CyprusKypriaki Omospondia Petosfairisis
CZE Czech RepublicČeský Volejbalový Svaz
DEN DenmarkDansk Volleyball Forbund
ENG EnglandVolleyball England
ESP SpainReal Federación Española de Voleibol
EST EstoniaEesti Võrkpalli Liit
FER Faroe IslandsFlogbóltssamband Føroya
FIN FinlandSuomen Lentopalloliitto F. Y.
FRA FranceFédération Française de Volleyball
GEO GeorgiaGeorgian Volleyball Federation
GER GermanyDeutscher Volleyball Verband
GBR United KingdomBritish Volleyball Federation
GIB GibraltarGibraltar Volleyball Association
GRE GreeceHellenic Volleyball Federation
GRL GreenlandKalaallit Nunaanni Volleyballertartut Kattuffiat
HUN HungaryMagyar Röplabda Szövetség
IRL IrelandVolleyball Association of Ireland
ISL IcelandBlaksamband Íslands
ISR IsraelIgud HaKadur'af BeIsrael
ITA ItalyFederazione Italiana Pallavolo
KOS KosovoFederata e Volejbollit e Kosovës
LAT LatviaLatvijas volejbola federācija
LIE LiechtensteinLiechtensteiner Volleyball Verband
LTU LithuaniaLietuvos tinklinio federacija
LUX LuxembourgFédération Luxembourgeoise de Volleyball
MKD MacedoniaOdbojkarska Federacija na Makedonija
MLD MoldovaFederaţia Moldovenească de Volei
MLT MaltaMalta Volleyball Association
MON MonacoFédération Monégasque de Volleyball
MNE MontenegroOdbojkaški savez Crne Gore
NED NetherlandsNederlandse Volleybal Bond
NIR Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland Volleyball Association
NOR NorwayNorges Volleyballforbund
POL PolandPolski Związek Piłki Siatkowej
POR PortugalFederação Portuguesa de Voleibol
ROM RomaniaFederaţia Română de Volei
RUS RussiaVolleyball Federation of Russia
SRB SerbiaOdbojkaški savez Srbije
SCO ScotlandScottish Volleyball Association
SLO SloveniaOdbojkarska Zveza Slovenije
SMR San MarinoFederazione Sammarinese Pallavolo
SVK SlovakiaSlovenská Volejbalová Federácia
SUI  SwitzerlandSwiss Volley
SWE SwedenSvenska Volleybollförbundet
TUR TurkeyTürkiye Voleybol Federasyonu
UKR UkraineUkrainian Volleyball Federation
WAL WalesPêl-foli Cymru

National Teams Competitions

Clubs Competitions

Men

Women

References

  1. ↑ "About the CEV". European Volleyball Confederation. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
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