Teams ready to enter the Silver #EuroLeague M&W battles
Preview
Men’s and women’s national teams from across Europe are ready to enter important battles in the one of the most prestigious competitions on the continent - the CEV Volleyball European Silver League 2022.
The tournaments in both genders are set to start next week, and the stakes are high - winners will compete in the CEV Volleyball European Golden League 2023, besides of gaining a money prize (50 000 euros in the men’s competition, 35 000 euros in the women’s competition).
Silver #EuroLeagueM
Competition format
League phase - The teams will play home and away matches, as there are six legs of Double Round Robin.
Final phase - A Final Four tournament will take place, hosted by Hungary on the weekend of June 18-19. The organiser, together with the pool winners, will take place in the F4 tournament, and in case Hungary finish as a pool winner, the 2nd best ranked team across all pools will qualify.
The Teams
As many as seven teams were set to lock horns in two pools.
Pool A: Finland, Hungary and Azerbaijan.
Pool B: North Macedonia, Romania, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
However, as Azerbaijan have withdrawn from the competition, eventually, only Finland and Hungary will battle it out in Pool A, and according to the CEV Volleyball Competition Regulations, team Azerbaijan forfeit all their matches.
Pool A: Finland will make their debut at the Silver #EuroLeagueM, as they had registered for the 2020 edition of the competition, but due to the coronavirus outbreak, they, together with all the other teams that year, weren’t able to compete. Hungary, on the other hand, qualify as host, but besides that, fans can expect from the team to deliver some really high-class Volleyball action, as the Hungarians are the current bronze medallists.
Pool B: 2021 runner-up, team North Macedonia is in the second pool, in the company of Romania, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The North Macedonians are the clear favourite in the group, as Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina didn’t compete in the 2021 edition of the competition neither (Bosnia and Herzegovina competed in the 2019 Silver #EuroLeagueM, while Albania did so in 2018). Romania, on the other hand, are the 2019 trophy winners, so much is expected from them as well.
Silver #EuroLeagueW
Competition format
League phase - As in the men’s competition, the teams will play home and away matches, as there are as many as 10 legs and the Double Round Robin system applies.
Final phase - Since there is no organiser of a Final Four tournament, the two best ranked teams will play only one Final match at the venue of the 1st ranked team.
The Teams
As many as five teams (Slovenia, Sweden, Portugal, Estonia, Luxembourg) have registered, so only one Pool (A) is formed.
Pool A: Slovenia, Sweden, Portugal, Estonia, Luxembourg
Slovenia are definitely the team with most Silver #EuroLeagueW achievements, as they are the 2021 bronze medallists and 2019 silver medallists. However, the 2018 winners of Sweden are probably the biggest favourite in this group. World-famous star opposite Isabelle Haak is part of the Swedish team, who also counts on the support of Isabelle’s sister - Anna, and the experienced twins Lazovic (Alexandra and Rebecka). Sweden delivered one of the biggest surprises at last year’s edition of #EuroVolleyW, when they disappointed team Bulgaria in the eight-finals in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
As for Portugal and Estonia, both performed at the 2021 Silver #EuroLeagueW, finishing on 4th and 5th place, respectively.
Luxembourg remain the underdog in the Pool, as they took the last position last year, but on the other hand, are one of the teams who show continuity in competing at the tournament throughout the years.
With much at stake, fans of European Volleyball can rest assured that this year’s edition of both Silver #EuroLeague will feature some outstanding matches.