World Championship a great opportunity for Slovenia

In the years 2022 and 2023, the Slovenian Tourist Board defined sports tourism as the main communication theme, i.e. active recreation in nature or outdoor and sports events and preparations. In this year and next year, it is thus paying even more attention to the promotion and development of this important and at the same time promising tourist product of Slovenian tourism. One of the most high-profile international sports events, which will take place in Slovenia this fall, is the Men's Volleyball World Championship.

The Men's World Volleyball Championship, which the FIVB originally awarded to Russia, but was then forced to cancel and find a new organizer, will take place between August 26 and September 11 in Slovenia and Poland.

Slovenia will co-host the volleyball spectacle and the most important volleyball competition under the auspices of the World Volleyball Federation together with Poland, and the Volleyball Federation of Slovenia (OZS) is confident that they will once again justify their reputation as a top organiser of events at the highest level. The project activities are in full swing and, according to the OZS President, Metod Ropret, the competition at the highest world level will have a major impact: "This is a truly remarkable event, and we have a demanding application and coordination process behind us, including tough negotiations. As far as the OZS itself is concerned, it is clear that we have done a lot both in organisational and results terms in the recent period and that we are very highly ranked in both segments. All this had to happen in a very short time, but with all the activities mentioned above, and also due to the great reputation that Slovenians enjoy after organising many events in recent years, we managed to get our country to host four of the six pre-competition groups, the eighth finals and also the quarter-finals. Here, we will watch the very best teams, including the reigning Olympic champions France, the reigning European champions Italy and the multiple world champions Brazil. Our national team is also here, having won silver three times in the last four European Championships. All of this shows what a great tournament we have ahead of us and the high level of volleyball that will be played in Ljubljana. At this point, I would like to invite people to come to Stožice and watch these outstanding national teams play. It is indisputable that there will not be a World Championship on European soil for at least the next 12 years. This is a truly unique opportunity and I believe we will seize it. I would like to say a special thank you to both governments, who have really listened and responded positively and given us a great deal of support in the extremely short period of time that we have had. I would also like to thank the Government Communications Office and the Slovenian Tourist Board for their proactive approach and all their support. I am confident that together we will carry Slovenia's name around the world, especially as the World Championship will reach almost a third of the world's population, according to the available data."

The aforementioned partner of the OZS, the Slovenian Tourist Board, will play a major role in the promotion and visibility of the World Championship and Slovenia as a green, boutique, sustainable and sports-oriented destination. "Major international events and the successes of Slovenian athletes strengthen Slovenia's visibility and reputation as an excellent destination for sports tourism and active experiences. According to the organisers' estimates, 2.3 billion sports enthusiasts around the world will be watching the men's World Championship, and the Slovenian Tourist Board will encourage them to take an active break in Slovenia by highlighting the I feel Slovenia brand and sending clear messages about the country's commitment to sustainability. The World Volleyball Championship is one of the most important and most popular international sporting events that our country is hosting this year and an opportunity to highlight the story of a green destination for great active experiences, in partnership with the organiser of the Championship and other participating institutions," said Maja Pak, MSc, Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board.

After the 2019 European Championship, the World Championship will be a new volleyball spectacle that our national team members are looking forward to. They have achieved outstanding results in recent years, already proved their worth in the Nations League this season, and now, after a few days of rest, they have already turned their thoughts to the preparations, especially with the desire to reach as high as possible in the World Championship at home. "First of all, I would like to thank President Ropret for bringing the World Championship to Slovenia. Until now, we have not even been close to discussing something like this at such a table. For us, the national team, this is something extraordinary. When we qualified for the World Championship for the first time, it was phenomenal. We qualified for the second time by a good performance at the European Championship and a high position in the world rankings. But when we found out that the World Championship would be held at home, our motivation, enthusiasm and energy increased even more. We have eight free days in the whole calendar year, we start our preparations tomorrow and we are looking forward to it. We have a great desire to prepare very well for this championship, including through the preparatory matches, and to improve the 2018 result. We will do our best to play as well as we can, to leave our hearts on the court and hopefully we will all finish the World Championship in Slovenia happy," said national team captain Tine Urnaut.

Slovenia will host 16 of the 24 world's top national teams in the group part of the competition, as well as the eighth-final matches and two quarter-final matches. According to Gregor Humerca, Secretary General of the OZS, there is a lot of interest in the championship, and both local and foreign fans can look forward to a number of promotional activities and a varied accompanying programme: "All matches in the group part, four a day, and the play-off matches will be played in the Arena Stožice, which has already seen one of its highlights with the 2019 European Championship. We are looking forward to something similar this time. Together with the Government Communications Office and the Slovenian Tourist Board, we are working hard on the accompanying programme. Among the most important events, we are looking forward to a replay of the volleyball match on the Ljubljanica River, in a slightly different format than three years ago. This will certainly be one of the highlights of the promotion. From 19 to 21 August, a preparatory tournament will be held for the three national teams, led by Slovenia. The tournament will take place in Maribor, as we want to extend the promotion to other parts of Slovenia. We are preparing a big event for domestic and foreign journalists on 25 August, where we will present, inter alia, the SloFit programme. Once again, there will be a fan zone in front of the Arena Stožice with all the accompanying programme, catering and concerts. The fans will definitely be well looked after."

The World Championship in Slovenia and Poland will start on 26 August, with Brazil and Cuba playing the first match at the Arena Stožice and Slovenia playing against Cameroon for the opener. Tickets are available from today and are on sale on the Petrol Ticket and Eventim online platforms, as well as at Petrol and Eventim points of sale.

Source: Volleyball Federation of Slovenia

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