Bangkok, Thailand, March 12, 2025 – The 1st AVC Champions League blazed off with impressive Press Conference and Drawing of Lots at The Grand Fourwings Convention Hotel Bangkok on Wednesday, setting the stage for the action-packed, high-level competition the volleyball enthusiasts should not miss.
AVC President Mr Ramon Suzara presided over both press events, with Thailand Volleyball Association President Mr Somporn Chaibangyang, representatives from Volleyball World, Chief Business Officer Mr Guido Betti and Lorenzo Cavallari, AVC Secretary General Mr Hugh Graham, AVC Sports Events Council Chairman Mr Kylychbek Sarbaghyshev and Secretary Ms Liu Yi and AVC Treasurer Mrs Marina Tsui, herself Member of the Volleyball Association of Hong Kong, China Board of Directors.
Also in attendance were Mr Richard Palou, Premier Volleyball League (PVL) President and Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Vice President, SV.League Secretary General Mr Saneyoshi Fuyutaka, representatives from PNVF, Japan Volleyball Association, TVA and Nakhon Ratchasima QminC VC, the Thailand’s volleyball club which will send both men’s and women’s teams to the 1st AVC Champions League, and a large number of Media Members.
Mr Guido Betti
Mr Guido Betti, Chief Business Officer, Volleyball World, was first invited to the stage for a speech. “The AVC Champions League was applied by a big push of the very active AVC President Mr Ramon Suzara in order to innovate the volleyball in Asia and spark to spring and boost the promotional sport in your fantastic continent. We will do our best to help in this new competition. For us, it’s a big honour to be here. It’s a big honour to support and I want to thank you for the two organisers – SV.League and JVA for organizing this event in Japan in Osaka and Kyoto and Philippines in Pasig City, “ he said.
Mr Richard Palou
Shortly after that, Mr Richard Palou delivered a speech on behalf of the host nation for the 1st AVC Women’s Champions League in Pasig City between April 22 and 27, 2025.
“We are very honoured to say that we take the pride and trust to host the 1st AVC Women’s Champions League. We are happy and preparing this event for several months. We booked hotels and arranged transportation for teams and officials. We would like to welcome and invite all of you to come to Pasig City. This is the Philippines, and enjoy the 1st AVC Women’s Champions League. We would like you to enjoy your experience in Philippines and the game of volleyball,” said Mr Palou.
AVC President Mr Ramon Suzara later presented the Official Volleyball to hosts Philippines, with Mr Richard Palou and PNVF Secretary General Mr Donald Caringal joining the moment.
Mr Saneyoshi Fuyutaka
SV.League Secretary General Mr Saneyoshi Fuyutaka was then invited to the stage to give a speech as the host nation for the 1st AVC Men’s Champions League.
“On behalf of Mr Shunichi Kawai, President of the Japan Volleyball Association, and Mr Masaaki Okawa, Chairman of SV League, the top volleyball league in Japan, I would like to extend my sincere greeting to all of you. As the Asian Club Championship has been rebranded to become the AVC Champions League, it must be the beginning of a new chapter. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate President Ramon Suzara and AVC for their leadership and commitment in driving this exciting reform to the volleyball. The global polarity of volleyball in Asia is unstoppable and its momentum has captured the attention not only in Asia, but also worldwide. In this regard, we are committed to work closely with AVC, FIVB and Volleyball World and join together to bring volleyball ecosystem. It is exceptional for us to host the first edition of the AVC Champions League in Japan,” he was quoted as saying in his speech.
Again, AVC President Mr Suzara handed over the Official Volleyball to hosts Japan, with Mr Saneyoshi Fuyutaka and JVA Representative Ms Aya Takai joining this great moment.
AVC President Mr Suzara
In his speech, AVC President Mr Ramon Suzara expressed his sincere gratitude to TVA and its President Mr Somporn Chaibangyang for the continued support to AVC as well as JVA and PNVF, citing that the 1st AVC Champions League cannot happen without their support and cooperation.
“Welcome to the Press Conference and Drawing of Lots for the AVC Champions League. I’m very happy to have you all here which marked the beginning and exciting chapter in Asian volleyball. The first AVC Champions League represents a significant milestone for the Confederation for the first time ever that we will see the 12 top teams per gender to compete in the AVC Champions League,” Mr Suzara indicated.
AVC President Mr Suzara
“The AVC Women’s Champions League will take place in Pasig City, Philippines from April 22 to 27, 2025 and Japan will host the AVC Men’s Champions League, with the first round in Osaka and the final round in Kyoto. This will set the stage for what promises to be a very exciting competition. The goal for launching this tournament is to elevate the professional volleyball in Asia, provide more opportunities for top clubs to showcase their talents and open new platforms of the further popurlarized sport. The AVC Champions League is more than just a tournament. I believe it will open new door to bring more sponsorship and media cooperation engagement,” added the AVC President.
According to Mr Suzara, one of the regulations here in the past of the AVC Club Championship is that team could have two foreign players and they did not play at the same time, one at a time. With the new Champions League, three foreign players can play at any time in this high-level competition.
AVC President Mr Ramon Suzara shakes hand with Oskar Kaxzmaxczyk from VolleyStation
The AVC President also announced the partnership of AVC and VolleyStation, the official competition data technology of FIVB which saw Asia Sales & Event Director in VolleyStation Mr Oskar Kaczmaxczyk in attendance for a speech.
Regarding the AVC Champions League, 12 top teams across Asia will strut their stuff in the men’s and women’s event, split to four pools of three teams apiece to compete for three days in the pool round-robin prelims. Only top two teams after the first round will next progress to the quarterfinals.
Onuma and Bagunas while assisting in Drawing of Lots
Meanwhile, Onuma Sittirak, former Thailand’s national team player and one of the 7 Legends in Thai volleyball, and Bryan Bagunas, the Philippines national team captain, were invited to conduct the Drawing of Lots as Drawing Assistants.
The outcomes of Drawing of Lots for the 1st AVC Women’s Champions League in Pasig City from April 22 to 27 and the 1st AVC Men’s Champions League in Osaka and Kyoto, Japan between May 11 and 18 are as follows.
AVC Women’s Champions League in Philippines
AVC Men’s Champions League in Japan
QUICK LINKS
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
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