Thailand will host the World Grand Prix Group 1 Finals in 2016
Lausanne, Switzerland, November 4, 2015 - The three FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix Group Finals in 2016 will take place in Thailand, Bulgaria and Kazakhstan. The competition will reach its climax when six teams play the Group 1 Finals in Bangkok, Thailand from July 6-10. The Group 2 Finals will take place in Bulgaria from June 17-19 at a venue to be confirmed. Kazakhstan will host the Group 3 Finals on the same weekend, also at a venue to be confirmed.
The Group 1 Finals in Bangkok will see hosts Thailand take on the five best ranked teams from the Group 1 Intercontinental Round. The Finals will feature two pools of three teams - pool play will be followed by semifinals and finals.
In the Group 2 and 3 Finals, hosts Bulgaria and Kazakhstan will take on the top three teams from the Group 2 and 3 Intercontinental Rounds respectively. In each case, the four teams participating will play semifinals and finals.
Next year's edition of the premier annual competition for women's national teams will feature 28 teams. The competition will run over a period of six weeks from June 3 through to July 10.
Group 1Group 1 includes: USA (2015 winners), Russia, Brazil, China, Italy, Japan, Germany, Serbia, Thailand, Belgium, Turkey, the Netherlands (promoted from Group 2).
* Pool hosts are highlighted
Group 2Group 2 includes: the Dominican Republic (relegated from Group 1), Poland, the Czech Republic, Puerto Rico, Bulgaria, Canada, Argentina, Kenya (promoted from Group 3).
Group 3Group 3 includes: Croatia (relegated from Group 2), Peru, Colombia, Australia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Mexico.
In 2015, the United States became the first team to win the World Grand Prix on home soil after a sweep of their matches in the Finals in Omaha, Nebraska. USA's Karsta Lowe, who finished the tournament with 77 points, received the Most Valuable Player award. Click
here to read more.