Volleyball
After EuroVolley premiere, North Macedonia now poised to host #EuroVolleyU19W in 2022
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Article Thu, Jan 16 2020
Skopje, North Macedonia, January 16, 2020. Volleyball is experiencing some sort of a ‘golden moment’ in North Macedonia – and following the historic participation of the Balkan country in EuroVolley 2019 Men, Volleyball fans from Skopje can look forward to another premiere. At their last meeting of the year 2019, the CEV Board of Administration decided that North Macedonia would be hosting the 2022 edition of #EuroVolleyU19W.
If someone was to compare Macedonian Volleyball as it was two years ago and as it is now, this person might get the impression that he is looking at two different countries, or at two different sports in the same country. The participation of the senior men’s national team at EuroVolley was a long-term, ultimate dream of many people, and that a European Championship will be taking place in North Macedonia would have sounded as an almost unachievable thing for even more. However, both of these achievements are now a reality.
North Macedonia competed very successfully at EuroVolley 2019 Men and now the CEV Board of Administration has decided to ride on the wave of success by announcing that the Balkan country will be hosting #EuroVolleyU19W in 2022. The year 2019 was without a doubt the most successful in the Volleyball history of the small Balkan country.
Macedonian Volleyball superstar Nikola Gjorgiev celebrating a victory at EuroVolley 2019 Men in Ljubljana
“We are really happy that our partners at CEV have shown that they believe in us. It means a lot to us and it will be a great obligation and motivation to be great organisers and hosts. After everything positive that happened to us last year, this decision by CEV further strengthens the role and status of the Macedonian Volleyball family. There is enough time until the big event, but we need to start working from now on. Our goal will not only be to organise the event to an appropriate high level, but also to make a team that will be a good, competitive contestant of the tournament. I would like to emphasise that the Government of North Macedonia supported our application, which was a ‘conditio sine qua non’ for us to be able to discuss this project with CEV. Therefore, I would like to express my gratitude to the Macedonian Government,” says the Secretary General of the Volleyball Federation of North Macedonia, Zoran Karanovic with a great joy and legitimate pride.
As he was involved in the 25-year-long process of building Macedonian Volleyball since the country’s independence after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, he has a clear recollection of all of the highs and lows. The fact that North Macedonia will host a European Championship for the first time, and its women’s national team in any age category will compete at the elite level for the first time, is a strong wind in sails for Macedonian Volleyball. It is a lifetime chance for all enthusiasts to turn the interest in women’s volleyball into quality, for the clubs to be motivated to invest in the development of women’s teams, for the coaches to build a long-term strategy for progress, and for the Volleyball Federation to co-ordinate and supervise this exciting project.
The Secretary General of the Volleyball Federation of North Macedonia, Zoran Karanovic, portrayed together with CEV President Aleksandar Boričić at the home of European Volleyball in Luxembourg
“We are a small country, but sometimes we achieve sport results that are above the expectations, especially given the limited resources we have. In this context, I think this event is welcome not only for Macedonian Volleyball, but also for the Macedonian sports family in general. You can imagine how much it means for a Federation with only two employees. This is really something big for us, maybe incomprehensible to the larger nations,” says Macedonian Radio and Television volleyball commentator Toni Stojanovski.
At this stage, there are about 1,200 female players in North Macedonia at all levels, most of them in the youth categories. They now all have the opportunity to achieve their dreams and hear the national anthem of their country while wearing the jersey of their national team at a sporting event of the highest level. Some of them will have the privilege of being in the company of another 11 teams competing for the medals.
After the very first match of their national team in 1995, Macedonian Volleyball is born again and it lives a new life. A life much nicer than the previous one.
If someone was to compare Macedonian Volleyball as it was two years ago and as it is now, this person might get the impression that he is looking at two different countries, or at two different sports in the same country. The participation of the senior men’s national team at EuroVolley was a long-term, ultimate dream of many people, and that a European Championship will be taking place in North Macedonia would have sounded as an almost unachievable thing for even more. However, both of these achievements are now a reality.
North Macedonia competed very successfully at EuroVolley 2019 Men and now the CEV Board of Administration has decided to ride on the wave of success by announcing that the Balkan country will be hosting #EuroVolleyU19W in 2022. The year 2019 was without a doubt the most successful in the Volleyball history of the small Balkan country.
Macedonian Volleyball superstar Nikola Gjorgiev celebrating a victory at EuroVolley 2019 Men in Ljubljana
“We are really happy that our partners at CEV have shown that they believe in us. It means a lot to us and it will be a great obligation and motivation to be great organisers and hosts. After everything positive that happened to us last year, this decision by CEV further strengthens the role and status of the Macedonian Volleyball family. There is enough time until the big event, but we need to start working from now on. Our goal will not only be to organise the event to an appropriate high level, but also to make a team that will be a good, competitive contestant of the tournament. I would like to emphasise that the Government of North Macedonia supported our application, which was a ‘conditio sine qua non’ for us to be able to discuss this project with CEV. Therefore, I would like to express my gratitude to the Macedonian Government,” says the Secretary General of the Volleyball Federation of North Macedonia, Zoran Karanovic with a great joy and legitimate pride.
As he was involved in the 25-year-long process of building Macedonian Volleyball since the country’s independence after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, he has a clear recollection of all of the highs and lows. The fact that North Macedonia will host a European Championship for the first time, and its women’s national team in any age category will compete at the elite level for the first time, is a strong wind in sails for Macedonian Volleyball. It is a lifetime chance for all enthusiasts to turn the interest in women’s volleyball into quality, for the clubs to be motivated to invest in the development of women’s teams, for the coaches to build a long-term strategy for progress, and for the Volleyball Federation to co-ordinate and supervise this exciting project.
The Secretary General of the Volleyball Federation of North Macedonia, Zoran Karanovic, portrayed together with CEV President Aleksandar Boričić at the home of European Volleyball in Luxembourg
“We are a small country, but sometimes we achieve sport results that are above the expectations, especially given the limited resources we have. In this context, I think this event is welcome not only for Macedonian Volleyball, but also for the Macedonian sports family in general. You can imagine how much it means for a Federation with only two employees. This is really something big for us, maybe incomprehensible to the larger nations,” says Macedonian Radio and Television volleyball commentator Toni Stojanovski.
At this stage, there are about 1,200 female players in North Macedonia at all levels, most of them in the youth categories. They now all have the opportunity to achieve their dreams and hear the national anthem of their country while wearing the jersey of their national team at a sporting event of the highest level. Some of them will have the privilege of being in the company of another 11 teams competing for the medals.
After the very first match of their national team in 1995, Macedonian Volleyball is born again and it lives a new life. A life much nicer than the previous one.