Mexico Serves Up a Winning Formula for Volleyball

The organization, public response and satisfaction of athletes from around the world have been some keys for Mexico to be considered as one of the great hosts to receive the best beach volleyball in the world, according to Jesús Perales Navarro, from the Mexican Volleyball Federation (FMVB).

Recently, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) has delegated to our country the responsibility of hosting stops of the World Tour 2022 (Tlaxcala and Rosarito), 2023 (La Paz and Tepic) and 2024 (Guadalajara and Tepic), but above all its most important event: the World Championship that was successfully held in October last year in Tlaxcala.

“This is the second year that we are among the first events of the calendar and that helps Mexico a lot because it strengthens our activity and programs, but above all, it gives our athletes the opportunity to start with official competitions in the early months of the year. This gives us strength and motivation for what is coming, which is the end of the Olympic process,” said Perales.

In order for these renowned competitions and the top athletes to come to Mexico, the specialist in this discipline placed a transcendental value on the inter-institutional relationship between all the organizations involved.

“The tournaments that have been held here have been very successful with an impressive coverage and well-made infrastructure. The athletes leave happy from the different cities in the country, that counts so that the following year our country will again be considered as an organizer,” he said.

“Bringing these events to Mexico causes good effects, since the amateur or athlete who is in early ages in youth categories sees the competitions live, and with that simple fact he is learning, even if he is not with a training of that level. We are talking about highly competitive athletes of international stature; this helps in the sense of the diffusion and growth of volleyball,” he added.

Perales Navarro shared his opinion regarding the current trend of top-level tournaments being held in locations far from the beach or in cities without beaches.

“Beach volleyball has changed, and it is part of the marketing that the FIVB has been handling for a few years now. This began when this sport entered the Olympic Games in 1996, and from then on, the conditions have changed a lot because they have achieved extremely important locations that are emblematic of the cities where the competition takes place. In the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the game will be played under the Eiffel Tower,” he explained.

He also announced that the Mexican pairs that have played the different stages of the FIVB World Tour have as their main objective the Continental Olympic Qualifier, which will take place in Tlaxcala from June 19 to 24 and will be the last chance for the Aztec pairs to win their ticket to the great event.

“We continue working because our pairs are no longer with Olympic possibilities via ranking, so we present ourselves in all international events to arrive as packed as possible to the Pre-Olympic. We believe that both teams will arrive in good conditions and of course we will be looking for those passes to Paris 2024,” he concluded.