Zug, Switzerland – Europe’s top 16 teams have descended on Azerbaijan and Georgia for the 2017 CEV Women’s European Volleyball Championship, with Baku set to host the first serve later today.
The continent’s top volleyball tournament begins when defending champions Russia play Ukraine in Pool C at 13:30 before hosts Azerbaijan face Hungary at 16:00 CET and Poland take on Germany at 18:30 CET.
Fans not lucky enough to join the 5,000 spectators at the National Gymnastics Arena will be able to follow the action live thanks to media rights negotiated by Infront Sports & Media, a Wanda Sports company, and worldwide media rights partner of the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball (CEV).
A total of 31 TV broadcasters will help distribute the tournament across 119 countries, with the CEV YouTube and Facebook pages also set to stream playoff matches online for the first time ever, with further coverage planned through the official Instagram and Twitter accounts.
Furthermore, the tournament will be viewed by millions in traditional volleyball markets such as Italy (RAI), Germany (SPORT1), France (L’Equipe) and Russia (Match TV) across the 10-day event.
The result will be a full 360° view of the tournament across a broad range of traditional and digital platforms delivering the best highlights to fans around the world.
Aleksandar Boričić, President of the CEV said: “We are obviously pleased to be able to take our premier competition to so many fans and countries across the globe, and we are especially happy that with the help of our partners at Infront we are expanding our audience by utilising the huge potential offered by social and digital media. We look forward to an exciting tournament, where the outstanding skills displayed by the top players in Europe will match the quality of the TV production and the extensive coverage resulting from the rights distribution.”
Stephan Herth, Executive Director Summer Sports at Infront: “This is a great example of the CEV European Volleyball Championship reaching out to new territories as volleyball continues to grow in popularity around the world. Volleyball at the European Games in Baku two years ago was one of the event’s most popular attractions so this tournament is certain to be just as popular both in Azerbaijan and Georgia. With such a fierce competition expected, we’re happy to bring the gripping action to fans around the world, just as we did for the men’s event a few weeks ago.”
It is the first time the tournament will be hosted by Azerbaijan and Georgia, with the latter making their bow in the tournament.
A total of 16 teams will battle it out to become the Queens of Europe. Among them are defending champions Russia, who have won the last two editions of the event. However, with Rio 2016 Olympic Games silver medallists Serbia, EuroVolley 2015 runners-up the Netherlands and traditional volleyball powers such as Italy and Germany also improving in recent months, the challenge to “threepeat” will be a steep one.
The tournament is made up of 36 matches, with the final set to take place in Baku on 1 October.
Infront Sports & Media, a Wanda Sports company, is one of the most respected sports marketing companies in the world, managing a comprehensive portfolio of top properties. Led by President & CEO Philippe Blatter, Infront covers all aspects of successful sporting events – including distribution of media rights, sponsorship, media production, event operation and digital solutions – and has won a reputation for its high standards of delivery. As the number one player in winter sport and with a leading role in football, summer and endurance sports, Infront enjoys long-lasting partnerships with 170 rights-holders and hundreds of sponsors and media companies. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Infront has a team of more than 900 experienced staff working from over 35 offices across more than 15 countries, delivering 4,100 event days of top class sport around the world every year. In November 2015, Infront was integrated into Wanda Sports Group, part of the Chinese conglomerate the Dalian Wanda Group.
Wanda Sports is the world’s leading sports business entity, founded to capture the opportunities in the global sports industry and to contribute to the prosperous international sports landscape in three key areas: 1) Spectator Sports (media & marketing business), 2) Participation Sports (active lifestyle business), 3) Services (digital, production and service business). Led by President & Vice Chairman Philippe Blatter, Wanda Sports incorporates the international sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media, the iconic endurance brand IRONMAN and Wanda Sports China. The headquarters are in Guangzhou, China.