Team Slovakia looking forward to historic World Championship debut

As confirmed earlier this week, the women’s national team of Slovakia will compete next year in the FIVB World Championship for the first time in history since the country’s declared independence in 1993. Shortly after this historic achievement, Marek Rojko, President of the Slovak Volleyball Federation (SVF) and CEV Vice-President, set another goal: securing participation in the qualifiers for the LA 28 Olympics and even an Olympic premiere in 2028.  

Slovakia has qualified for the FIVB World Championship for the first time, as they currently rank 28th in the world. The event scheduled for 2025 will feature for the first time as many as 32 teams, divided into eight groups of four. “This is a historic success and an emotional moment. No senior volleyball team in Slovakia’s history as an independent country has achieved this feat. If we count the participation of other team sports, excluding ice hockey and football, indoor sports have only had one such opportunity. This is a recognition of the efforts made over the past years by the players and the entire team,” said Rojko.

The team captain, Karin Palgutová, also expressed her excitement. For her, the World Championship will be the pinnacle of her national team career. “I am thrilled, not just because I will be there, but because this is a great success for Slovak Volleyball. We have been working for years to get to where we are now. I am glad that our efforts paid off,” said the 31-year-old outside hitter.

The positive development in the world ranking for coach Michal Mašek’s team had been evident for quite some time. In late May, ahead of the third leg of the Golden European League at home, the coach had stated that the outlook was positive, but the team remained calm, leaving the calculations to others. Palgutová also reflected on the long wait: 

At the press conference held on Friday at the Slovak Olympic and Sports Committee (SOŠV) Museum, the Minister of Tourism and Sport, Dušan Keketi, praised the team’s success. “This is my second briefing this week, where I am congratulating a team sport on their achievement. I believe this will be a successful event that will push Volleyball forward. I can confirm that discussions are ongoing with representatives of team sports. We are preparing a strategy focused on talent identification, coach education, sports infrastructure, and event organisation. I believe we will contribute to advancing sports,” Keketi stated.

Looking ahead, the dream of LA 28 seems not too far ahead. The qualification for the Olympic competition will take place in 2027, with 24 of the world’s top teams competing. SVF President Marek Rojko sees this as an attainable milestone and hopes Volleyball will become the first team sport from Slovakia to qualify for the Olympics in 28 years (the women’s basketball team featured at Sydney 2000).

“Two months ago, we were ranked 24th in the world, as the ranking system works similarly to football. Points are gained and lost with every match. We did not participate in the qualification for the European Championship because we qualified directly for the next edition last year, but the teams that did play it earned points and surpassed us. Performance-wise, I know we are between 22nd and 29th place, certainly not lower. The teams above us have a significant point advantage, so realistically, we will spend the 2025 and 2026 seasons fighting for a spot in the Olympic qualification. I believe we are good enough for it. It is hard to predict, but we are closer than we have ever been,” said Rojko, who was appointed Vice-President of the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) at the end of August.

The World Championship will take place from August 22 to September 7, 2025, in the Thai cities of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Phuket.