Volleyball Nations League latest big sporting event to return to Hong Kong, with ‘full house’ expected
- City will host tournament in June 2023, ending what will have been a four-year hiatus from the FIVB calendar amid the pandemic
- ‘We are relieved we can finally bring back this mega sports event,’ says Hong Kong’s volleyball chief – ‘I expect a full house’
The FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL) will return to Hong Kong in June as an “M” mark event after a four-year hiatus because of the pandemic.
The sport’s world governing body announced its 2023 schedule on Friday, with Hong Kong back on the calendar from June 13-18. Eight teams will feature in the round robin event at the Coliseum in Hung Hom, including China and world No 2 Italy, who are the defending champions.
“We submitted our bid for the VNL 2023 earlier this year. We know there are a number of cities who want to be one of the stops, and we’re so glad the FIVB put Hong Kong on their calendar again,” Volleyball Association of Hong Kong president Wilfred Ng Sau-kei said.
Hong Kong has a long history of hosting both preliminary rounds and the finals of the World Grand Prix, which was replaced by the VNL in 2018. But the 2020 edition was cancelled amid the pandemic, before the city lost its host status for the next two years because of Covid-19 restrictions.
“We are relieved we can finally bring back this mega sports event,” Ng, who is also the vice-president of the Major Sports Events Committee, added. “Hong Kong has a large group of Chinese volleyball fans who are eager to watch. I expect a full house like before.”
The city last hosted the VNL in 2019, with a budget of around HK$20 million. China’s team – led by star spiker Zhu Ting – secured first place, and drew a large crowd of around 8,500 spectators.
