FIVB
launches advanced World Ranking System
LAUSANNE, Switzerland,
February 1, 2020 – The FIVB’s new and improved World Ranking
System will come into action today, ensuring a more accurate
and reactive system than ever before.
All results from 1 January
2019 will contribute to establishing each senior teams’
world ranking, which will be consistently updated using live
match data. However, for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
grouping, the previous World Ranking System will be applied,
based on the rankings as of 31 January 2020.
FIVB President Dr Ary
S. Graça Fᵒ
praised the new system, stating:
“Over the last 18 months,
we spent a lot of time testing out our World Ranking System
for senior national teams and I am delighted with the new
approach, which is a transparent and fair way of ranking and
seeding teams in pools for qualification tournaments.
“It is a truly exciting
development for volleyball, as this new method means that
every set counts.”
In May 2019, a decision
was taken by the BOA to test a new system, in parallel with
the current rankings, to establish a more transparent way of
ranking senior national teams. The new system adopts a
points-based approach, with scores, performances and
opponent strength all contributing.
Based on both teams' score
and historical match data, the algorithm will calculate the
probabilities of all six outcomes of the match (3-0, 3-1,
3-2, 2-3, 1-3 or 0-3). The actual result of the match is
then compared with the expected results that were previously
calculated. If a team over-performs and exceeds
expectations, the team scores world ranking points. If the
team under-performs, then the team loses world ranking
points. The closer the actual match result is to the most
expected outcome, the smaller the number of world ranking
points will be won and lost.
The new World Ranking
System considers match results from the following official
competitions:
• Olympic Games &
Qualification
• World Championships & Qualification
• Volleyball Nations League (VNL)
• Volleyball Challenger Cup
• World Cup
• Continental Championships & Qualification
• FIVB recognised
international events, including annual official competitions
organised by Continental Confederations with a minimum of
four participating teams.
The new World Ranking
System will also make it easier for fans to track the
success of their team and compare them against a competitor.