IOC President praises FIVB in historic joint meeting
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, December 4, 2019 - International
Olympic Committee (IOC) President Dr. Thomas Bach today
praised the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) for
its commitment to pioneering innovation across all areas of
volleyball at a historic joint meeting in the new Olympic
House.
The meeting was the first to be held between the IOC
Executive Board and the FIVB Executive Committee, and
volleyball also became the first International Federation to
hold a joint meeting with the IOC at their new headquarters,
which was officially opened in June, 2019.
FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça Fᵒ
shared important statistics that highlighted the work of the
FIVB to engage with fans around the world. Following the
FIVB’s presentation, President Bach congratulated the FIVB
on its efforts to innovate and highlighted the success of
the Volleyball Nations League.
“We are very pleased to have one of our most successful
Olympic International Federations here with us. You
understand what it means to be a global sport and all the
challenges you may face. In the middle of these challenges,
you have anticipated many of these developments already, and
therefore I am very confident that we will have a very
fruitful meeting today.
“Your motto is innovation, and we say the same but in
different words. Change or be changed. If we want to keep
our relevance, we have to innovate, we have to change,
otherwise we will fall behind and potentially disappear.
Today, we are sharing the approach to these challenges. We
look forward to your presentation here and to our following
discussion together.”
The two organisations also talked about the importance of
gender equality, and President Ary Graça outlined how the
FIVB was working hard to promote women’s sport globally. The
FIVB President also explained that, off the court, the FIVB
headquarters employ an equal number of male and female
staff, with 45% of FIVB Directors being women.
“Family values and gender equality are very important for
us,” the FIVB President said. “It is our aim to be the
world’s number one family sport, and the FIVB has always
used its platform to promote and empower women and girls.
“On the field of play, our women’s teams receive the same
prize money and coverage as the men’s teams, and both men’s
and women’s sport also deliver the same financial results. I
believe this stands us apart from many other sports.”
Other subjects discussed included an update on the autonomy
of sports and non-discrimination, anti-doping, good
governance, and preparations for future Olympic Games and
Youth Olympic Games. IOC Director Kit McConnell highlighted
the success of the FIVB at recent Olympic Games,
particularly the Rio 2016 Games, where women’s volleyball
was the most viewed event across the entire Olympic
programme. McConnell also praised the FIVB’s engagement and
sports presentation efforts, both for fans in the stadium
and those watching and interacting digitally around the
world.
“The way the FIVB has continued to drive the fan engagement
and spectator presentation is something that we support and
that we’re looking to partner with. Looking ahead to Tokyo
2020, we have some great venues for beach volleyball and
volleyball. The ticket demand is incredible and we are on
track for an amazing Games in Tokyo.”
During the meeting, Cuba’s triple Olympic champion and FIVB
Executive Vice-President, Mireya Alejandrina Luis Hernandez,
officially received her OLY status from President Bach.
Mireya won gold as an outside hitter for Cuba’s national
team at the Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and at Sydney 2000
Olympic Games.
The meeting concluded with the two presidents agreeing to
work closely together for the good of the Olympic Movement
and the sharing of the Olympic values around the world.
“This was an excellent opportunity to exchange our views and
show our respective positions on different issues,”
President Bach said. “This has given us the opportunity to
strengthen our cooperation. Thank you for your presentation
and for the attitude behind your presentation.”