Twelve teams from five continents to compete for Women’s U23 crown

Ljubljana, Slovenia, September 9, 2017 – The pressure mounts ahead of the third edition of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s U23 World Championship in Slovenia's capital Ljubljana. 24 hours before the start of the prestigious under age competition, the twelve coaches met for the traditional press conference. From September 10 to 17, twelve teams from five continents will battle for the U23 crown.

The third edition of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s U23 World Championship will see twelve teams from around the world compete: reigning champions Brazil and Argentina from South America, hosts Slovenia, 2015 runner-up Turkey and Bulgaria from Europe, China, Japan and Thailand from Asia, 2015 bronze medal winners the Dominican Republic and Cuba from NORCECA as well as Egypt and Kenya from Africa.



Argentina coach Martin Lopez: "Here are the best teams in the world, and it will be a difficult championship. We will try to give our best in every match and we will see where this goes."

China coach Wu Sheng: "Everybody knows that China’s senior team is strong, but here my players are very young. This is the first time for this generation to compete at this level. I hope they will perform as well as possible and achieve good results."

Dominican Republic coach Wagner Pacheco: "With Elizabeth Martinez we miss one of our key players. For sure it will be a challenge for our team without her. However, she is not here and we still have a good team."

Egypt coach Maged Mohamed: "We will show maximum effort to defend our colours. It's a big chance for us to be here and compete at such a high level. We hope to finish among the best eight teams."

Slovenia coach Alsessandro Chiappini: "I think we have a good spirit in the team and World Championship qualifications were a good experience, but our focus was always on this tournament. I agree with other coaches: this will be a tough competition. I hope my girls will enjoy this tournament and take the chance to play in front of their crowd."

Thailand coach Chamnan Dokmai: "Playing in front of our fans would be much easier, but that doesn’t mean we can’t perform well abroad. We have to focus on our game and we already think about how to prepare our young players for their future. Our expectations are on each player first, not on the result."



Bulgaria coach Antonina Zetova: "We are happy we are one of three European teams at the World Championship. We are honoured to compete with the best teams in the world and we are motivated for the tournament."

Brazil coach Wagner Coppini: "I don’t see my team as favourites, although we are defending the title. We have a good team, but we have different players, another generation. It’s a completely new team. We expect a strong competition, we will see where this goes."

Cuba coach Wilfredo Robinson: "It is true we haven't had good results yet. We have young players, maybe we can achieve something in this championship. But we need some time to develop the players. Some of them are already playing abroad and maybe at this World Championship we will have a chance finish on a high note."

Japan coach Kiyoshi Abo: "We will try to fight and show our best volleyball. The new scoring system is bringing a lot of changes and we will fight with great spirit and hard work to achieve a good result."

Kenya coach Cathrine Mabwi: "It is our second appearence at the U23 World Championship. Kenya are a young team and we lack experience. It will be difficult for us to play against all these top teams. However, we will try to perform as well as possible."

Turkey coach Ataman Guneyligil: "Let me first thank the Slovenian federation and my friend Alessandro Chiappini for their great hospitality. All teams are very well prepared for the championship. We prepared well too."

All matches in Ljubljana are played under a new scoring system currently being tested: a best-of-seven, 15-point set format.

Quick links - Volleyball:
FIVB Volleyball Women's U23 World Championship 2017
FIVB Volleyball Women's U23 World Championship 2017 - Schedule
FIVB Volleyball Women's U23 World Championship 2017 - Teams
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