CEV President Roko Sikirić and FIVB President Fabio Azevedo recently addressed around 110 members of the French Volleyball community at the FFVolley General Assembly held in Juan-les-Pins. The presence of the top global and European volleyball officials highlighted the French federation`s importance within the international volleyball landscape and underscored a unified commitment to advancing the sport.
The CEV President expressed significant admiration for French Volleyball`s achievements. He specifically praised their remarkable and unprecedented feat of retaining the men`s Olympic title last year in Paris, noting the immense pressure overcome after their success in Tokyo three years prior. Mr. Sikirić also stated that the future appears exceptionally bright, citing France`s complete sweep of all European age-group titles (U18, U20, and U22 divisions) last year. Furthermore, he highlighted the considerable growth in women`s volleyball, marked by their sixth-place finish at EuroVolley 2023 and their Volleyball Nations League debut in 2024.
Mr. Sikirić affirmed that CEV would continue to support the French Volleyball family in their current and future initiatives. He was particularly impressed by the data shared by FFVolley President Eric Tanguy, which included details of a record budget and an impressive number of licensed players, currently standing at an all-time high of approximately 230,000. The number of affiliated clubs also reached a record high of 1,413.
FIVB President Fabio Azevedo engaged in a productive dialogue with attendees, outlining his vision for the global development of volleyball. The audience included representatives from French overseas territories across Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, giving the assembly a truly international character.
CEV and FFVolley are committed to ongoing close cooperation to expand the sport. A significant upcoming joint event is the CEV General Assembly, which Paris will host in early November. This meeting is eagerly anticipated to bring together key European volleyball stakeholders in the French capital.
Gideon Holt