This is the seventh time that the region of Baja California, in northwestern Mexico, receives a World Championship, since 1974.
Tijuana, Mexico, June 26, 2014 - The Drawing of Lots ceremony for the FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship was held at the California High Performance Centre on Thursday.
Hosts Mexico are in Pool A with Turkey, Canada and Egypt, while Pool B includes Russia, Argentina, USA and Poland.
The teams in Pool C are Brazil, Iran, China and Cuba, while Italy, France, Japan, and Slovenia will play in Pool D.
The Baja California High Performance Centre in Tijuana will host the first round matches in Pools A and B, while the Mexicali State Auditorium will be the venue for Pools C and D.
The President of the Mexican Olympic Committee, Carlos Padilla Becerra, attended the ceremony as guest of honour. He was joined by the General Consul of China in Tijuana, Wang Jian.
Pedro Humberto Alonso Bernal and Luis Augusto Luttheroth del Riego, who serve as Honorary Consuls of Poland and Japan, respectively, were also present along with the President of the Tijuana Tourism and Conventions Bureau, Miguel Angel Badiola.
“It is such a great celebration for the Mexican Olympic Committee to be here,” said Padilla Becerra. “We in Mexico open our arms and the doors to the competitors of several countries in a region were volleyball has been adopted in a High Performance and Development centre that is part of our Committee, and is certified by the International Olympic Committee”.
The Ceremony was directed by FIVB Delegate Saul Castro Verdugo. A total of 16 teams will complete at the tournament scheduled to take place from September 11-21.
A preliminary round robin phase of four Pools will be played. After that, there will be a second round with the top 8 teams of the tournament and a classification round for positions 9 to 16.
A second round of pools will take place and the top 4 teams will advance to the semifinals. Winners will claim tickets to the finals for the gold medals. Pools A and B will play at the High Performance Centre in Tijuana, while Pools C and D will play at the Mexicali State Auditorium.
This is the seventh time that the region of Baja California receives a World Championship. The first event was in 1974, when Tijuana was one of the host cities of the FIVB World Championship. Twenty-three years later, the Girls’ U18 and Boys’ U19 World Championships were played in Tijuana and Mexicali in 2007.
In 2009, both cities received the Women’s U20 competition, while the Boys’ U19 and Women’s U23 contests took place in the city in 2013.
FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship PoolsPool A (Tijuana): Mexico, Turkey, Canada, Egypt
Pool B (Tijuana): Russia, Argentina, USA, Poland
Pool C: (Mexicali): Brazil, Iran, China, Cuba
Pool D: (Mexicali): Italy, France, Japan, Slovenia