The Qatari volleyball team is preparing to travel to the Chinese city of Linyi to participate in the FIVB Volleyball World Challenge Cup, which will be held from July 4 to 7. This tournament represents an important opportunity to qualify for the Volleyball Nations League (VNL), which will be expanded to include 18 teams starting in 2025.
The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) has announced the tournament schedule, with Qatar starting its campaign against Egypt next Friday. Eight teams are participating in the tournament: Qatar (ranked fifth), host China (ranked first), Belgium (ranked second), Ukraine (ranked third), Egypt (ranked fourth), Chile (ranked sixth), Croatia (ranked seventh), and Mexico (ranked eighth).
If Egypt advances, Qatar will face the winner of the Mexico-China match on Thursday. On the same day, Croatia will face Belgium, while the following day will see Ukraine face Chile. The quarter-finals will be played in a knockout format, with the winners advancing to the semi-finals and then to the final to determine the team that qualifies for the Volleyball Nations League. The third and fourth places will be determined in a match between the losers.
Qatar qualified for this tournament after winning the title of the fourth edition of the Asian Volleyball Challenge Cup, which was recently held in Bahrain, where they defeated the Pakistani team by three sets to none. This is the first title for the team under the new name of the tournament after winning the title in 2018 under the name of the Asian Elite Cup.
The Qatari team aims to achieve a new achievement and add another title to its record, and enhance its position on the international stage by participating in the Volleyball Nations League. The team is led by Argentine coach Camilo Soto, and the team includes 14 players: Bobby, Sultan Abdullah, Youssef Ighlaf, Abdulrahman Ayman, Nicola, Mohammed Al-Waleed, Ahmed Abdulwahab, Youssef Al-Yafei, Mubarak Al-Kuwari, Bilal Nabil, Papi Majit, Othman Abdulwahid, Ghanem Al-Rumaihi, and Mohammed Al-Sharshani. The mission is headed by Ali Abdullah Al-Haddad.
