Oman, Qatar win WAVA Men’s Volleyball Championship in Muscat; MVP: Fallah Al Jaradi
Oman, Qatar, Thailand, Indonesia, Montenegro, Greece, Bulgaria win zonal volleyball medals with Empowerment – FIVB
The men’s teams of Oman, Qatar, Thailand and Indonesia and the youth women’s teams of Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria, all supported by FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, earned medals at zonal volleyball competitions last week.
WAVA Men’s Volleyball Championship in Muscat, Oman
Hosts Oman, benefiting from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment funding, and Qatar, also supported by the program, claimed gold and silver, respectively, at the WAVA Men’s Volleyball Championship in Muscat that came to a conclusion last week. Iraq completed the podium with bronze.
The Oman Volleyball Association has been funded with USD 294,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national volleyball teams, in addition to USD 12,000 in volleyball equipment. Their men’s national team is trained by Tunisian coach Nizar Chekili. The Qatar Volleyball Association has been granted USD 420,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national volleyball teams. Their men’s squad is working under the guidance of Argentinean coach Camilo Soto. In addition, the QVA has been allocated USD 18,000 for national team coach development knowledge transfer programs and USD 86,500 in volleyball equipment.
After shutting out Lebanon and Iraq, and losing to Saudi Arabia in straight sets, Oman topped the final standings in Pool B of the WAVA Men’s Volleyball Championship. In their semifinal against Pool A runners-up Kuwait, the home team mastered a 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-22) sweep, and in the gold medal showdown (pictured in the main draw; source: @omanvba) against Qatar, they also got the job done in straight sets, 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-23), and triumphed as West Asian zonal champions.
In their pool, Qatar beat Syria in four sets and Kuwait in three. In their semifinal, they hammered out a 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 29-27) victory over Pool B runners-up Iraq to secure a spot on the podium.
Iraq bounced back with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-18) win over Kuwait in the third-place match to claim the bronze.
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Lebanon, in that order, took the places from fourth to seventh in the final standings.
Oman’s 32-year-old striker Fallah Al Jaradi was honored as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament. The Dream Team was composed of setter Mahdi Sammoud (Qatar), opposite Majid Al-Shibli (Oman), outside hitters Mahmood Al Saadi (Oman) and Mohamed Waleed (Qatar), middle blockers Abdallah Nassim (Qatar) and Mahmood Wahhab (Iraq), and libero Abdullah Al Maqbali (Oman).
WAVA Men’s Volleyball Championship: results and standings
SEA Men’s V Cup in Candon, Philippines
FIVB Volleyball Empowerment funded Thailand and hosts Indonesia finished in second and third place at the second tournament of this year’s SEA Men’s V Cup, held Jakarta. The gold medal went to Vietnam.
The Thailand Volleyball Association has so far been allocated a total of USD 420,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national volleyball teams, in addition to USD 138,000 worth of volleyball equipment and another USD 6,000 for a national volleyball team coach development knowledge transfer program. Their men’s teams train under the guidance of legendary Korean player and coach Park Ki-Won. The Persatuan Bola Voli Seluruh Indonesia national volleyball federation has been granted USD 231,000 in coach support for their national volleyball teams, in addition to USD 75,000 in volleyball equipment. Indonesia’s men’s national team is currently guided by Cuban coach Reidel Toiran.
Both Thailand and Indonesia topped their pools in Jakarta – with Thailand beating Myanmar in straight sets and Vietnam in five, and the home team shutting out Cambodia and defeating the Philippines in four sets. In their semifinal against tournament one winners Cambodia, Thailand mastered a 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-18) sweep. Indonesia fell to Vietnam by 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-18) in the other semifinal.
The home team bounced back with a 3-1 (25-18, 19-25, 25-20, 26-24) victory over Cambodia in the third-place playoff to get the bronze, while Vietnam took their revenge from Thailand for the defeat in pool with a hard-fought 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 25-19, 15-25, 15-10) win to top the podium and leave the Thais with silver.
Vietnam’s 27-year-old outside hitter Ngoc Thuan Nguyen grabbed the MVP award and a spot on the Dream Team, next to setter Boonyarid Wongtorn (Thailand), opposite Napadet Bhinijdee (Thailand), outside hitter Veasna Voeurn (Cambodia), middle blockers Duy Tuyen Tran (Vietnam) and Hendra Kurniawan (Indonesia), and libero Pakkapong Kwangnok (Thailand).
SEA Men’s V Cup tournament 2: results, standings and statistics
BVA U17 Women’s Volleyball Balkan Championship in Ferizaj, Kosovo
FIVB Volleyball Empowerment beneficiaries Montenegro and Bulgaria brought home silver and bronze at the BVA U17 Women’s Volleyball Balkan Championship in Ferizaj, Kosovo, while Turkiye claimed the zonal crown.
The Volleyball Federation of Montenegro has been granted USD 252,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their volleyball national teams, USD 129,000 in volleyball equipment and USD 6,000 for a national team coach development knowledge transfer program. Their women’s national teams have been benefitting from the expertise of Serbian coach Jovo Cakovic. The Bulgarian Volleyball Federation has so far been funded with a total of USD 210,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national volleyball selections. Their women’s teams benefit from the expertise of Italian coach Marcello Abbondanza. In addition, the BFV has received USD 167,000 in volleyball equipment.
The BVA U17 Women’s Volleyball Balkan Championship in Kosovo was played in a six-team single round-robin format. Montenegro and Bulgaria reached the last competition day on a 3-1 win-loss record each and their head-to-head encounter was practically a direct duel for the second place. Montenegro mastered a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-21) shutout to claim the silver and leave Bulgaria with the bronze.
Turkiye topped the final standings undefeated on 5-0 and raised the champions trophy. Along the way, they managed to beat Montenegro by a hard-fought 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 15-25, 25-22, 15-10) in what proved to be the title decider, and nailed an emphatic 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-19) sweep of their game with Bulgaria.
Albania, Kosovo and Moldova, in that order, took the places from fourth to sixth in the final standings.
Turkiye’s 16-year-old outside hitter Ecrin Selis Turkyasar was named MVP. Her teammates Cagla Caglayandere and Nejla Guzonjic earned the individual awards for Best Opposite and Best Middle Blocker. Montenegro’s Nadja Pekovic and Elena Jovanovic were honored as the Best Setter and the Best Outside Hitter, respectively, while Bulgaria’s Magdalena Bogdanova was recognized as the Best Libero.
BVA U17 Women’s Volleyball Balkan Championship: results and standings
BVA U16 Women’s Volleyball Balkan Championship in Grevena, Greece
FIVB Volleyball Empowerment supported Greece and Bulgaria earned silver and bronze at the BVA U16 Women’s Volleyball Balkan Championship in Grevena, Greece. Turkiye triumphed as zonal champions in this age category.
Greece’s Hellenic Volleyball Federation has so far been allocated a total of USD 126,000 in coach support for their national volleyball teams, in addition to USD 121,500 in volleyball equipment. Their women’s teams take advantage of the work done by coaches Christos Dozis and Konstantinos Gkountas. The Bulgarian Volleyball Federation has granted a total of USD 210,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national volleyball selections. Their women’s teams benefit from the expertise of Italian coach Marcello Abbondanza. In addition, the BFV has received USD 167,000 in volleyball equipment.
The BVA U16 Women’s Volleyball Balkan Championship in Greece was conducted in a six-team single round-robin format. Until the last day, Turkiye and hosts Greece were still undefeated. So, when they met one another in the very last match on the program, it was a de facto final for the Balkan crown. Turkiye hammered out a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-17) sweep to triumph as southern European zonal champions. Bulgaria finished in third place on a 3-2 win-loss record and snatched the bronze.
Romania, Serbia and Montenegro took fourth, fifth and sixth place, respectively.
Turkiye’s 14-year-old outside hitter and captain Sera Caglar received the MVP recognition.
BVA U16 Women’s Volleyball Balkan Championship: results, standings and statistics
CAZOVA Men’s Volleyball Final Four in Willemstad, Curacao
Hosts Curacao triumphed as winners of the 2026 CAZOVA Men’s Volleyball Final Four, held in Willemstad. Barbados took silver, while the bronze went to Trinidad & Tobago.
Curacao topped the standings after the round-robin stage of the tournament undefeated in three matches and advanced to the gold medal match against pool runners-up Barbados, who finished the first phase on a 2-1 win-loss record. In the final, Curacao beat Barbados for the second time, celebrating the trophy after a 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-17) sweep.
The other two participating teams, Trinidad & Tobago and winless Bahamas, met in the third-place match, which went 3-1 (25-20, 25-27, 29-27, 25-22) Trinidad & Tobago’s way.
Curacao’s 29-year-old opposite Marlison Kleinmoedig claimed the MVP award. He was also nominated on the Dream Team along with setter Raynold Marchena (Curacao), outside hitters Daynte Stewart (Trinidad & Tobago) and Jabarry Goodridge (Barbados), middle blockers Ludrich Inocente (Curacao) and Raygid Isenia (Curacao), and libero Akeel Oxley (Barbados).
CAZOVA Men’s Volleyball Final Four: results, standings and statistics
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