NORCECA World Championship Qualifiers get underway in Haiti

PETION-VILLE, Haiti, July 7, 2016 - The long and tough road to a first ever appearance for unheralded Caribbean countries to the FIVB World Championship 2018 gets underway this weekend when the qualification process to the 2017 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Championship to be hosted in by two-time champions Trinidad and Tobago serves off.

It will also mark the start of the qualification in any Zone or Confederation, under the entire FIVB umbrella.

However, while it may serve as greater things to come for some, it will also spell the early end to dreams for others with big aspirations in getting to the World Championship to be held jointly by Italy, and Bulgaria. 

Ranked seventh by CAZOVA, Haiti will play host to a four-team round-robin series involving Curacao, ranked fifth and its expected main rival as well as US Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, which are rated at 11^th and 12^th.

The matches will be contested on Saturday July 9 from 5pm at the Gymnasium Vincent “Tet Kale”, Port-au-Prince, Haiti with a double-header, followed by two matches on the morning of Sunday July 10 from 9am, followed by two more matches on Sunday afternoon from 5pm to end proceedings.   

Four years ago, when all four countries also participated in the qualifiers to the 2014 FIVB under a different format which incorporated all zones from round one, Haiti feared the best.

Back then, the Haitians reached as far as the Third Round of qualifiers while Cayman Islands and US Virgin Islands did not get past the first hurdle, and Curacao was ousted in Round Two. 

Speaking ahead of the round-robin series, Margarette Graham, President of the Haitian Volleyball Federation said the sporting community and general public was extremely excited about the event.

“This is the very first time that Haiti will be hosting a CAZOVA or NORCECA event at any level and for this the players, general public and the federation are very thankful.

 “We have done quite a bit of work in marketing the event with a number of interviews on radio, television and in the newspapers to put the spotlight on the event and the response has been overwhelming.”

Mushtaque Mohammed, President of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association said he was in full support of the new format for qualification to the World Championship, where all the teams had an opportunity to participate.

“The establishment of the CAZOVA Championship being a part of the qualification process also makes for a more interesting group stage of matches as well.”