THE Philiipine Arena in Bulacan, which boasts of the largest capacity indoor coliseum in the country, will not be hosting any game of the FIVB Volleyball Men's Championship slated next year.
This was announced by local volleyball authorities after officials from the world volleyball body inspected the venue and found the Philippine Arena, which can hold as many as 55,000 fans, not suited for the requirements of the championship.
Some crucial games, including the semifinals and the finals, were being eyed to be played at the arena, but upon inspection, the FIVB and Philippine sports officials decided that the games will be held in only two venues - the Mall of Asia Arena and at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
No official reason was given, but sources said the Philippine Arena failed to meet the logistical and team requirements of the tournament, the same reason advanced when at the last moment, the FIBA World Men's Basketball Championship final was also withdrawn from being played at the venue last year.
“The FIVB, after also making inspections, [has chosen] the two competition venues to be MOA Arena as Site A and Smart Araneta Coliseum as Site B," said Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Tats Suzara.
Suzara said the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will be held at the MOA Arena. This will be from September 12 to 28, 2025 .
One-nation show
The choice of venue will just be one of the organizational challenges officials will have to handle well. The big one, of course, is how to satisfy the requirements of hosting 31 nations, the Philippines is the 32nd, which will descend in the country and stay for nearly a month for the championship.
The challenge will be unlike the one faced by organizers of the FIBA World Championship where the country shared hosting chores with Japan and Indonesia.
This time, there's only one host, and that's the Philippines. It is a bit unusual as the last two editions of the FIVB championship were hosted by two countries each time - Italy and Bulgaria in 2018, and Poland and Slovenia in 2022. Poland also hosted the event in 2014 as a single entity.
A few things have changed since the tournament was held two years ago. Then, there were only 24 participating countries, now, there will be 32.
But Suzara is hardly fazed by the situation. He said: “In hosting world events, we are really ready already."
He added that the experience gained from hosting the FIBA event will help the association handle whatever situation may arise during the competition.
During the FIBA championship, the country hosted 16 countries while Japan and Indonesia had eight each. This time, he said, the country will host all 32 teams.
“Hosting this World Championship for the first time is really good for the sport of volleyball, good for the fans,” said Suzara.
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