SIXTEEN TEAMS START BATTLE FOR LAST SIX SPOTS

Men's Senior European Championships qualification

Luxembourg, 10^th May 2004. Although the final round of the Men’s European Championships is more than one year away, sixteen teams will start their fight for the remaining six spots on Friday, when the first round of the qualification phase is scheduled. During three days of play, the sixteen teams play will play in four groups of four teams. The qualification phase will be concluded mid-September, when the second and last round is scheduled. 

It will be a tough challenge for the sixteen teams to reach the final round, which will be played in Rome (ITA) and Belgrade (SCG) in September 2005. All participants in the A-category of the continental championships for Europe, the world’s leading volleyball continent, have a chance to make it to the final round. Defending champion Italy as well as France, Russia, Serbia & Montenegro, Poland and the Netherlands are already sure of playing in the final round as the best six ranked teams from the previous European Championships. The four pool winners of the qualification phase after two tournaments and the two best second ranked teams will join the six directly qualified teams in the Final Round.

Portugal and Germany seem to be the clear favorites in pool A. The German team having just missed the direct qualification as the number seven of the 2003 European Championships, organized in Germany, and Portugal having reached the last eight during the 2002 World Championships in Argentina. With Portugal as the first host, the match between these two teams will be extremely important on Sunday evening. Long shots Hungary and Israel will complete pool A.

Spain should normally be in a good position to win pool B, as they are still fighting for a place at the 2004 Athens Olympics and are preparing very hard for the final Olympic qualification tournament, which will be played two weeks after the European Championships qualification. Spain will meet Slovakia, Croatia and Belarus in the tournament which will take place in Bratislava (SVK). With the support of the home crowd, Slovakia can be regarded as a dangerous opponent.

With three extremely strong teams in pool C, there will be some challenging matches in the tournament being played in Kuopio (FIN). Greece is trying to do its best during its ‘own’ Olympics and is already in good shape. Greece can benefit from the well balanced preparation schedule. Bulgaria has always made it to the European Championships final round in the past years and is capable of defeating every opponent, including the best teams in the world.

The runner-up of this year’s Spring Cup, Finland, is also a young team on the way up. These three giants will fight for the top position, while fourth participant Belgium will probably have a minimal chance. The Belgian national team only prepares a couple of days for important events like this and has never participated in the European Championships final round since 1987, when they directly qualified as organizer.

There will certainly be lots of action in pool D, when four strong Eastern European teams will confront one another in Opava (CZE). The home crowd favorite Czech Republic has a slight advantage, but opponents Ukraine and Slovenia have produced some great results in the past and Estonia being an upcoming team can turn out to be the surprise of the tournament.

The first stage of the Men’s European Championships qualification is scheduled for 14-16 May with the second stage being played from 17-19 September. The qualification phase for the women’s European Championships is due to start on 22 May 2004.

Men’s European Championships 2004/2005 - Match schedule first qualification phase (local time):

Pool A: Guimaraes, Portugal.
Friday, 14 May 2004:
1800 HUN – GER
2000 POR – ISR

Saturday, 15 May 2004:
1500 ISR – GER
1715 POR – HUN

Sunday, 16 May 2004:
1400 HUN – ISR
1605 GER – POR

Second tournament in Germany (17-19 September 2004)

Pool B: Bratislava, Slovakia.
Friday, 14 May 2004:
1630 CRO – BLR
1900 SVK – ESP

Saturday, 15 May 2004:
1630 BLR – ESP
1900 CRO – SVK

Sunday, 16 May 2004:
1400 ESP – CRO
1630 SVK – BLR

Second tournament in Croatia (17-19 September 2004)

Pool C: Kuopio, Finland.
Friday, 14 May 2004:
1800 GRE – BEL
2030 FIN – BUL

Saturday, 15 May 2004:
1400 BUL – GRE
1630 BEL – FIN

Sunday, 16 May 2004:
1400 BEL – BUL
1630 FIN – GRE

Second tournament in Bulgaria (17-19 September 2004)

Pool D: Opava, Czech Republic.
Friday, 14 May 2004:
1500 SLO – CZE
1730 UKR – EST

Saturday, 15 May 2004:
1600 CZE – EST
1830 SLO – UKR

Sunday, 16 May 2004:
1400 EST – SLO
1630 UKR – CZE

Second tournament in Slovenia (17-19 September 2004)

More on the web at www.cev.lu

Enjoy & Be There:
13-16 May 2004: European Championships Tour Italian Open Beach Volleyball, Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy.
14-16 May 2004: Qualification Tournaments Men’s European Championships 2005, Various.
21 May-11 July 2004: European League, Various.
4-6 June 2004: Qualification Tournaments Women’s European Championships 2005, Various.
10-13 June 2004: Beach Volleyball European Championships Final, Timmendorfer Strand, Germany.
8-11 July 2004: Under 20 European BeachVolleyball Championships, Lendava, Slovenia.
9-11 July 2004: Final Four European League, Opava, Czech Republic.
29 July-1 August 2004: Under 23 European BeachVolleyball Championships, Brno, Czech Republic.
5-8 August 2004: Under 18 European BeachVolleyball Championships, Myslowice, Poland.
2 September 2004: Drawing of lots 2004-2005 Indesit European Champions’ League, Vienna, Austria.
3-11 September 2004: Women’s Under 19 European Championships, Bardejov, Presov, Slovakia.
4-12 September 2004: Men’s Under 20 European Championships, Zagreb, Croatia.
17-19 September 2004: Qualification Tournaments Men’s European Championships 2005, Various.
17-19 September 2004: Qualification Tournaments Women’s European Championships 2005, Various.