Ljubljana, Slovenia, July 2, 2019 – The 2019 FIVB Men’s Volleyball Challenger Cup is hosted in Slovenia’s capital city, Ljubljana. From Wednesday to Sunday at Arena Stožice six teams will show their best in a quest to claim the one and only available spot in the 2020 FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
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After last year's successful edition held in Portugal, the FIVB Men's Volleyball Challenger Cup is again hosted in Europe, this time in picturesque Ljubljana, Slovenia. The tournament features the hosts Slovenia, Turkey, Belarus, Cuba, Chile and Egypt. All teams are fully motivated ahead of a challenging week.
Slovenia under the guidance of new head coach Alberto Giuliani hope to open the season in the best possible way in front of their home crowd. Turkey and Belarus are the 2019 CEV European Golden League winners and runners-up, respectively and it's worth emphasising that Turkey on their way to the trophy didn't lose a single game, dropping only three sets in eight matches. Cuba and Chile are the only teams which also competed in the 2018 Volleyball Challenger Cup, finishing 4th and 5th. Cuba with 26 appearances in the FIVB World League aim to make their debut in the VNL, while Egypt with new head coach Gido Vermeulen will try to regain their former glory. The winner of this edition will replace a relegated Portugal team (who were the winners of the 2018 Volleyball Challenger Cup).
The participating teams have been divided into two three-team pools, the top two teams of each pool will progress to the semifinals determining the composition of the medal matches.
2019 FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup - Pools
Pool A: Chile, Slovenia, Turkey
Pool B: Belarus, Cuba, Egypt
2019 FIVB Challenger Cup – Match schedule of Preliminary Round (all times local):
Wednesday, July 3
17:30 Egypt v Belarus
20:30 Slovenia v Chile
Thursday, July 4
17:30 Cuba v Belarus
20:30 Turkey v Chile
Friday, July 5
17:30 Egypt v Cuba
20:30 Slovenia v Turkey