NEWS
Footvolley, Israel and a prince
Have a look at this nice video about footvolley in Israel. Footvolley keeps growing in Israel and in 2018 they even got a visit from Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge. Keep up the good work in Israel.
Have a look at this nice video about footvolley in Israel. Footvolley keeps growing in Israel and in 2018 they even got a visit from Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge. Keep up the good work!
FlexVirtual International Footvolley Tournament 2019
January 3rd to 6th Footvolley Groningen, Netherland, invites to an international tournament with 40 teams from all around the world.
January 3rd to 6th Footvolley Groningen, Netherland, invites to an international tournament with 40 teams from all around the world.
Footvolley Groningen has a long tradition of hosting a tournament at the beginning of a new footvolley year. 28 mens team will clash together in the indoor arena at Binn’npret and also 12 womens team.
Nations from all around the world is represented: Netherland, Greece, Portugal, France, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Israel, Morocco, Azerbaijan and Peru. The common language is hard work and spectacular rallies.
Mens team
Greece: Yannis Tsiouris & Michalis Mouroutsos
Portugal: Marco Flores and Bruno Flores
France: Adrian Locicero & Steeve Rossi
Austria 3: Alexander Peitler & Stephan Lutz
Italy: Federico Iacopucci & Luca Marcaccini
Austria 1: Nikolaus Hofmann-Wellenhof & Benedikt Hofmann-Wellenhof
Switzerland: Alberto Quintas & Nils Fehr
Croatia: Ivan Maksic & Daniel Buzurovic
Germany: Roman Uhr & Dennis Weber
Belgium: Jochen van Gestel & Bjorn van Gestel
Groningen Allstars: Richard Vennema &
Norway: Alexander Morland Karlsen & Markus Henanger
Sweden: David Nilsson & Marcus Nilsson
Israël 1: Pascal Schmidt & Maor Haas
Morocco: Kabbage Hamid & Baligh Ouach
Azerbaijan: Feyar Huseynov & Namik Iskandarov
International: Weliton Silva (Coquinha) & Klemens Hofmann-Wellenhof
Austria 2: Sascha Wegscheider & Simon Saurugger
Israël 2: Ron Ben Ishay & Oren Zubeari
Amsterdam Allstars: Frank de Boer & Rayan (Rangel de Souza)
Italy Allstars: Max Tonetto & Alain Faccini
Israël 3: Ben-El Cohen & Adiv Shavit
Peru: Giusseppe Mayorga Ramos & Christian Del Carpio Garrido
Holland 1: Antonio Aurino &
Holland 2: Bart Zantman & Martijn ten Duis
Holland 3: Ben Sparenburg & Marcel Birza
Holland 4: Kevin Heuvelink & Stefan Adams
Holland 5: Kaspar Schlebusch & Erik Drenth
Women teams
Sweden 1: Isabel and Rita Rodrigues
Sweden 2: Elin Astrid and Anna Wenger
Norway: Henriette & Pernille Ingvaldsen
Israel 1: Mor Haviv and Hila Havia
Israel 2: Danielle Schulman & Mor Shaked
Germany 1: Carolin Schultze and Rebecca Gabriel
Germany 2: Dana Hillmann and Stefanie Mohr
Holland 1: Nynke Karrenbeld & Evelyn Dobbinga
International: Jorike Olde Loohuis & Thais Castro
Italy: Sara Cupellini & Nicole Tonetto
Austria 1: Eva Rauch & Julia Sauer
Austria 2: Martina Zeiner & Nina Steinbauer
Annual Congress Meeting in Valencia
Once a year all the members of The European Footvolley League (EFVL) meets up to evaluate and plan for the future. This year we are welcomed by Footvolei Valencia and the Spanish Footvolley Federation in the beautiful city of Valencia.
Evaluating 2018
2018 was an exciting year for the EFVL and we had our third European Footvolley Championship, in as many years, in Graz, Austria. We crowned new champions and more players, both men and women, have found their way into our footvolley universe.
The EFVL also added Israel and Sweden as new members in 2018 and we are now 15 different nations in the EFVL footvolley family.
Tournaments
What a year it has been so far, and we are not even finished with 2018. We can look back at an amazing European Championship in Graz, Austria. We have seen great tournaments in Schwäbisch Gmund, as we do every year, and in Greece. Corsica put together a double tournament in both Piana and Ajaccio - and invited international stars from Brazil and Paraguay. France also put together a great tournament in Antibes. Portugal are rocking it with their national ranking tour - in 10 different cities. More and more cities and clubs in Spain are joining the Spanish Footvolley Federation and they also know how to put together great tournaments. Germany have a lot of new and exciting young players that are itching to take on the number 1 team Mo and Joel. Italy sent a lot of new players to tournaments this year and also have some up and coming young players in the mix.
In addition to this we have a lot of national tournaments and national championships. It is also great to see that we are attracting more women and youth to our beautiful sport.
Planning for 2019
One of the big talking points during our stay in Valencia is to decide on the tournament structure for 2019. We hope to share this, and many other news, with you as soon as possible. 2019 will be an exciting year for the EFVL and we are ready to take the next step forward.
France reclaims title as European Champions
France and Portugal have been in the European Footvolley Championship (EFC) finals all three times since it started in 2016, and this year was no exception. However, this year France took the title with a new team - Antoine Ottaviani and Lucien "Lulu" Alessandri. In Graz they proved to be the strongest team.
France and Portugal have been in the European Footvolley Championship (EFC) finals all three times since it started in 2016, and this year was no exception. However, this year France took the title with a new team - Antoine Ottaviani (26) and Lucien "Lulu" Alessandri (20). In Graz they proved to be the strongest team.
The long way through qualification
Antoine and Lulu had to take the long way through the qualification tournament since they lost the French qualification final against 2016 EFC champions Dominique Susini and Anghjulu Maria Plasenzotti - which was held in Corsica earlier this year.
With 15 teams pre qualified for the main tournament there was one more spot up for grabs for the winner of the qualification tournament. This was a high level tournament with a lot of great games and 11 teams. In the end France 2, with Antoine and Lulu, came out as the winners after a spectacular final against Spain 2, with legendary players Pablo Carcelén and Carlos Delgado. They won 18-11 and secured the 16th and final spot in the main tournament.
On the road to the main tournament they played six games and even lost 18-16 against Portugal 3 in the third round. This meant they had to go the extra long way through the losers bracket where they eventually faced Spain 2 in the final.
This meant that Antoine and Lulu had already played 6 games before the main tournament even started. Were they tired? Or was this exactly what they needed to play better as a team?
RESULTS: See all the results from the qualification tournament
TEAMS: See all the teams from the qualification tournament
All photos: Fatlum Kurtaj
Group C for France 2
The draw for the group stage sent France 2 into group C with Spain 1, Italy and Norway. They kept up the momentum and secured three wins. 18-14 against Spain, 18-6 against Norway and 18-14 against Italy. As the winner of group C they would face the runner up from group A which surprisingly was Switzerland - coming out with an important 18-14 win against Netherlands.
Group D for Portugal 1
Portugal 1, with players and reigning champions Nelson Pereira and Miguel Pinheiro, ended up in group C with Germany 1, Croatia and Belgium. Most of us believed this would be an easy win for Portugal, but Germany, with players Mo Obeid and Joel Nißlein, came out flying and beat the Portuguese 18-16 in a surprising win. With Germany as the group winner and Portugal second, the Portuguese they had to take a different route towards the final.
TEAMS: See all the teams from the main tournament
RESULTS: See all the results from the main tournament group stage
Final stage
After the group stage was finished, the draw for the quarter finals was:
Austria 1 vs Spain 1
France 1 vs Portugal 1
France 2 vs Switzerland
Germany 1 vs Portugal 2
Clash of titans
This meant that the finalists from 2016 in Schwäbisch Gmünd and 2017 in Albufeira, France 1 and Portugal 1, faced each other already in the quarter finals. Portugal 1, with Pereira and Pinheiro, took charge in the match and won the first set 18-13 - just to see France 1 win with the same numbers in set number two. A third set to 15 points had to be played to separate the two teams. The final set was very close, but in the end the reigning champions won. France now had to put their faith in Antoine and Lulu.
RESULTS: See all the results from the final stage
The local heroes
The home team Austria - with the brothers Klemens and Jacob Hofmann-Wellenhof - impressed us by reaching yet another quarter final and faced a very good Spanish team - represented by Juan Antonio López Martinez and Sergio Antolinos González. Spain proved to be the stronger side and won 18-11 and 18-15. Austria gave the Spaniards a good fight and the home crowd some very good entertainment.
The Germans flying high
Germany 1 - with Joel Nißlein and Mo Obeid - came into the quarter final full of confidence after beating Portugal 1 in the group stage. Could they continue their run? They faced a strong Portuguese team with players Beto José Correia and Filipe Santos. Portugal 2 took an early lead in both sets and in the end they won 18-12 and 18-10. A disappointment to the ever progressing German team and their fans.
Old vs New
The last quarter final was a clash between old and new. Switzerland - with Nils Fehr and Benedikt Zwyssig - have played footvolley since the 90s. They surprised everyone by winning against Netherlands in the last group stage game - showing that experience takes you a long way in footvolley. They now had to face the new and much younger team, France 2, with Antoine and Lulu. The French took charge right away and won both sets 18-7.
Semi finals
The draw in the semi finals looked like this:
Spain 1 vs Portugal 1
France 2 vs Portugal 2
Neighbours face each other
Two times bronze winners Spain 1 had played solid throughout the tournament, but the first real challenge was now on the opposite side of the court - the reigning champions from Portugal. Juan and Sergio have always been close to reaching the final and had to play at their best to make the dream come true. Nelson and Miguel knew this and took charge in the first set beating the Spaniards 18-8. In the second set Juan and Antolinos came back and played much better. They were neck and neck with the Portuguese all the way to the end - only to lose 19-17.
Portugal with another chance
Portugal has a lot of talent and it is impressive to have two teams reach the semi finals. Could we see a final between two Portuguese teams? The French did not like that idea, but were unable to stop the Portuguese second team winning the first set 18-12. Was this the first sign of fatigue after playing all the games in the qualification tournament? Set number two proved that to be wrong and the French won 18-12 and we had to play a third set to decide the winner. And what a set this was. The teams followed each other all the way to the end, but France proved the stronger team in the end and won 15-12.
Final
Yet again we saw a final between Portugal vs France. Only this time with a new French team. Antoine and Lulu now faced their biggest challenge since forming the team.
Just as we saw in the semi final the French started poorly and lost 18-13. Portugal did what they had to do and showed no sign of weakness. However, Antoine and Lulu had no intention of just giving away the win. They took the long way to the final and it was time to squeeze out the last drop of energy.
In set two the teams changed on having the lead throughout the set. Portugal even had a match point - but were not able to execute. That opened the door and they let the French back in to the game. 20-18 was the score in favor of France.
Portugal was able to taste the win, but let it slip away. In the third set there was no longer any doubt. France won comfortably 15-6 and was crowned the new European Footvolley Champions of 2018. This was extra special because Lucien "Lulu" Allesandri wins the title at the age of 20, the youngest European Footvolley Champion until now and for many years to come we presume.
Afterthought
The European Footvolley League is very proud to be able to crown the European Footvolley Champions for the third consecutive year. The tournament was put together by the amazing guys and girls from Footvolley Austria. The games were held in the middle of the town square in Graz and attracted a big crowd on every game day. The stadium was impressive and the Styrian hospitality is legendary. The live TV broadcast was superb and got picked up by several TV Channels worldwide. Does this taste like more? It does. Stay tuned for the EFVL calendar in 2019.
Watch the European Footvolley League 2017 final from Albufeira, Portugal
Watch the European Footvolley League 2016 final from Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany
EFC finals review
What an amazing day we had with the finals at the European Footvolley Championship in Graz, Austria. High level, spectacular play, amazing players and beautiful weather at an amazing venue. Read about the final games of the tournament right here.
What an amazing day we had with the finals at the European Footvolley Championship in Graz, Austria. High level, spectacular play, amazing players and beautiful weather at an amazing venue. Read about the final games of the tournament right here.
More information will come...
Final - champions of Europe
For the third year in a row we have a final between Portugal and France. The only difference this year is that it is France 2 in the final as the first team met and lost to Portugal in the quarter final.
In the first set Portugal held nothing back and took charge of the game. At the score 15-11 to Portugal the french had to call a time out. Nelson put too many short balls in and the defense had to be adjusted. After the time out we saw a much better defense from the french but Portugal came out of the first set with a 18-13 win.
The second set started with the teams following each other point by point. With the score 6-4 to Portugal Lucien came up with a monster shark attack but this did not scare the portugese and they kept playing solid defense and scoring important points. Still, the french did not give up and the score was still close. At the score 14-12 to the portugese Lucien again came up with a monster shark attack and with Miguel trying to show us how to do a shark block. Lucien came out the winner but landed badly and needed a couple of seconds to recover. Suddenly France was in the lead for the first time in the match at 17-16 and had a set ball - only to waste it with a bad reception. At 17-17 France once again did a mistake and Portugal now had the match ball. The third set ball was awarded to the french with the score 18-17 and then Portugal used their time out to discuss the tactics for the coming points. This did not help and France took the second set 20-18.
In the third set France came out flying and took an early 8-2 lead. Everything the french struggled with in the first two sets were now fixed and they played solid in both defense and attack. With the score 10-3 to France Nelson came up with an incredible save to win the point. Only to get a shark attack from Lucien right back at the next point. After that Portugal could not close the gap and France got match point with the score 14-6. They only needed one try and are now the European Footvolley Champions 2018.
3rd place - three peat or new team on the podium
This is the third year in a row Spain plays for a place on the podium. Two times earlier they have come in third and wants a repeat also here in Graz.
Portugal kept playing the same solid game from the get go with great defense and smart attacks. Spain could not figure out how to defend and lost the first set 18-9.
In the second set Spain had something to prove and started much better this time. They had the lead in the game from start to finish and won the set 18-12.
The game had to be decided in a third and final set and this was as close as it can get as they followed each other from point to point. With the score 10-6 to Spain Filipe Santos had to ask for a medical timeout to take care of a nosebleed. When the game restarted Portugal took control and with the score 12-10 the spanish saw their lead disappear and took a time out to figure out how to get the three last points to secure the win. Portugal kept eating away at the spanish lead and suddenly the score was 13-13. Spain got the first match point after that and only needed one chance when Juanito put the ball securely in the corner.
Congratulations to Spain with yet another podium finish and to Portugal for giving Spain a tough game.
Semi final 1 - the classic
In the first semi final we had a classic matchup between Portugal and Spain - two of the biggest footvolley nations in Europe. They have met in many important matches before but history does not count today - only the win. Portugal, with Nelson Pereira and Miguel Pinheiro, was the favorite against Sergio Antolinos and Juan López in todays match but Spain came prepared to give them a fight.
The game started with solid play from both teams but Portugal slowly pushed away and won the set 18-8. Spain needed the break to reset and came out strong in the second set leading the game all the way up to 15-15 when Portugal finally came in front. After this it was a nail biter and every point was very important to win - and the tension on the court was high. Yet again Portugal proved to be the stronger team and won the second set 2-0. Congratulations to Portugal with the third final in three attempts. Spain now has to play for third place like last year.
Photos: Fatlum Kurtaj
Semi final 2 - the number twos
As we are getting closer to the final the level and the stakes are getting higher. In second semi final we had a matchup between France 2 and Portugal 2. The french second team are now one step further in the competition than the french first team - who lost in the quarter final against Portugal 1. On the other side of the court the second team from Portugal would try to make it an all Portuguese final, but first they had to overcome the new talent from France.
Antoine Ottaviani and Lucien Alessandri have played five more games than the other teams after winning the qualification tournament to clinch the 16th spot in the tournament. This only seems to be to their advantage as they keep playing better and better the further into the tournament we get. Filipe Santos and José Correia (Beto) have played solid throughout the tournament and came ready to give France a run for their money.
The portugese started strong and took command in the first set and won it 18-12. The french had to figure out how to defend against the portugese and did the adjustments they needed in time for the second set. They won by the same score as in the first set, 18-12. The game now had to be decided in a third and final set to 15. The teams followed each other point by point and halfway through it was not easy to say who would come out at the top. In the end the french wanted it more and won the set 15-12.
The quarter finals
Quarter final 1 - a test for the Austrians
The first quarter final of the day was between Austria 1 and Spain. The local players and brothers Klemens Hofmann-Wellenhof and Jakob Hofmann-Wellenhof faced a tough challenge against the consistency of last years third place finisher Sergio Antolinos and Juan López. In the end it was a close second set but Spain came out on top. Prodigy Jacob probably played the game of his life but in the end the Austrians were beaten by the better team. The final score was 18-11 and 18-15 for Spain.
Quarter final 2 - clash of titans
The second quarter final was a clash between last years EFC finalists Portugal 1 and France 1. The portugese players Nelson Pereira and Miguel Pinheiro are always a contender for the title, with a second place in the European Footvolley Championship in 2016 in Schwäbisch Gmünd and a win in 2017 in Albufeira. The french players Susini Dominique and Plasenzotti Anghjulu Maria have played both finals against Portugal and were the winners in 2016 - the first European Footvolley Championship ever. It was a very close game and the lead changed between the teams throughout the whole game. The portugese took the first set with the score 18-15. France needed to figure out how to beat the Portugese. In the second set France came out flying and secured a third set with by winning the set 18-13. In the third set Portugal proved to be the stronger team and won the set 15-13. A close game all the way and the finalist from 2016 and 2017 ends their journey already in the quarter final. Now they have to rely on France 2 to defend the french honor.
Quarter final 3 - the young vs the old
The third quarter final was between the young talents from France against the more experienced pair from Switzerland. Antoine Ottaviani and Lucien Alessandri is an up and coming team from France and they play spectacular footvolley using the whole range of footvolley tricks combined with good stamina, strength and technique. It's worth noticing the attacks from the prodigy Lucien. He is already a crowd favorite. On the other side of the court we have the golden oldies Nils Fehr and Benedikt Zwyssig. The pair probably is the most experienced team in Europe and they have found their way all the way to the quarter finals by playing smart and effective. Nils even showing the young guys how to shark.
In the game the swiss team was no matchup to the french and the final score was 18-7 18-7 in favor of the french. We still hope to see Switzerland in many tournaments to come.
Quarter final 4 - Germany knocking on the semi final door
The last quarter final was between Germany and Portugal 2. Germany surprised everybody with a win over reigning champions Portugal in the group stage. Could they continue the streak of good play? Germany, with shark expert Mo Obeid and partner Joel Nißlein came out flying against Filipe Santos and José Correia (Beto). Mo started the first point with a shark attack but had to take a medical timeout after only two points. The stadium went quiet as Mo held his knee and had to get assistance from the tournament medic. When the game restarted Germany and Portugal followed each other closely in the first set only to see Portugal win 18-12 in the end. In the second set Germany was not able to close the gap and Portugal won comfortably 18-10.
All photos by FatlumKurtaj
EFC Day 1 review
The European Footvolley Championships first day has ended and we have had an amazing tournament so far - with favourites loosing important games and old legends proving experience is important in the game of footvolley.
The European Footvolley Championships first day has ended and we have had an amazing tournament so far - with favourites loosing important games and old legends proving experience is important in the game of footvolley.
The qualification and women tournament
The tournament already started on wednesday with the womens tournament and the mens qualification tournament.
Women group stage
In this years competition we have seven teams. Netherlands and Sweden came with two teams and in addition we have teams from Austria, Germany and and Italy.
After the group stage, quarter final and semi final we have a final tomorrow between Netherlands 1 and Germany. We can't wait to see who comes out the stronger team.
All the results from the women tournament can be found here.
Mens qualification
With 15 teams pre qualified for the main tournament there was one more spot up for grabs for the winner of the qualification tournament. This was a high level tournament with a lot of great games. In the end France 2 came out as the winners after a great final against Spain 2. They won 18-11 in a spectacular final.
Lucien Alessandri with a shark dink at the net.
SEE ALL RESULTS: Challonge.com
Mens group stage
Group D - champions lose against Germany
The group stage had a lot of interesting games and the biggest surprise was probably Germany winning 18-16 over the reigning champions Portugal 1. Mo Obeid and Joel Nißlein came out strong and never looked back - even bringing the usual shark attacks into the mix. Nelson Pereira and Miguel Pinheiro did not expect this level from the Germans and had to settle for second place in group D after Germany. As the winner of the group Germany advance straight to the semi finals and can rest one extra game. Congratulations to Mo and Joel.
Group A - local heros and old legends strike back
Another big surprise was the level of consistency we saw from the Swiss footvolley legends Nils Fehr and Benedikt Zwyssig in group A. After loosing their first game to the Austrian first team 18-11, they came back strong to beat Netherlands 18-14 and the Austrian second team 18-5. That secured them a second place in the group and they now face Greece and not Portugal 2 in the quarter final. The brothers Klemens Hofmann-Wellenhof and Jakob Hofmann-Wellenhof representing Austria 1 were unbeatable and came through the group stage victorious. The fans gave them a standing ovation and we expect great things from the local heros in the finals.
Group C - last in first out
The strongest group was group C with Spain, France 2, Italy and Norway. France 2 had a tough way to the group stage coming in as the winners of the qualification tournament the day before - playing 5 games. They continue to play better and better, won all their games in the group and clinched the number one spot. France 1 should be afraid of losing the number 1 spot in France. Spain, the bronze medal winners from 2017, showed their skills and secured the second place.
Group B - good teams and low energy
Footvolley is all about fair play and doing your best to win every game. France 1 and Portugal 2 ended up in a situation where they would benefit from not winning the group - due to Germany unexpectedly winning group D. This resulted in at very strange matchup were it seemed most difficult NOT to win the points. The audience went silent and we could hear a pin drop in the arena. In the end France 1 came out as the winners and do not have to play the 1/8 final - but meet reigning champion Portugal 1. Greece once again got through to the final stage and meets Switzerland in the 1/8 final tomorrow.
Results from the draw
Footvolley Austria invited to a press conference on wednesday May 30th to talk about the upcoming European Footvolley Championship (EFC) to be hosted in downtown Graz. The official draw also took place to decide the groups for the mens and womens main tournament - in addition to the mens qualification tournament.
The city of Graz, Footvolley Austria and the main sponsor Energie Steiermark hosted a press conference on wednesday May 30th to talk about the upcoming European Footvolley Championship (EFC) in downtown Graz. The official draw also took place to decide the groups for the mens and womens main tournament - in addition to the mens qualification tournament.
16 spots up for grab
In this years EFC there are 13 member nations qualified for the group stage. The host nation Austria and reigning champion Portugal will have two teams. That makes the total 15 teams with 16 spots available in the tournament.
Every member nation can send a team to the qualification tournament and the last team will be decided in a qualification tournament where the winner takes the last spot in the tournament.
Our new members Sweden and Israel are not eligible to enter the tournament directly, but they will both send a team to the qualification tournament. Next year they will be pre-qualified for the main competition.
Results from the mens main tournament draw
The Finals bracket looks as follows:
Results from the Qualification draw
Results from the womens main tournament draw
A live video stream from the whole press conference and the draw can be found on Footvolley Austria's Facebook page.
We welcome Israel to the EFVL family
Following the inclusion of Sweden a couple of weeks ago we are happy to announce Israel as a new member of the European Footvolley League. Israel becomes the 15th member after a unanimous vote from the member nations.
Following the inclusion of Sweden a couple of weeks ago we are happy to announce Israel as a new member of the European Footvolley League. Israel becomes the 15th member after a unanimous vote from the member nations.
About footvolley in Israel 🇮🇱
Israel is a country with a lot of footvolley players and a long-standing footvolley culture. There are over 200 active male footvolley players and about 20 women players - and growing.
Israel Footvolley Association (IFA) is well organized and puts a lot of focus on development. They really believe -like the EFVL- this sport is a life changer. There are footvolley programs around the country for both men and women, and of course youth players. They provide footvolley training to professional football clubs in the beginning of the season and there are projects for young kids of tough neighbourhoods.
On top Israel Footvolley Association organized a lot of high-quality tournaments in the past years: In 2016 they had a Rio Footvolley Qualification Tournament for the Rio Games with over 50 Israeli teams participating. There also was the Eilat World Championship with some of the best players from around the world. The same goes for the Haifa International Tournament. The national Israeli Footvolley League with 1st and 2nd division broadcasted weekly LIVE on television. Also the first ever Mixed Couples Footvolley Championship in Israel was held last year. In April 2018 Israel hosted the The Red Sea World event in Eilat which also attracted many European teams like e.g. our European Champions from Portugal Nelson & Miguel.
If you want to play footvolley in Israel you can find courts and players in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Eilat, Bat Yam, Ashdod, Rishon le Zion, Kfar Saba, Yavne and Herzeliya to name a few cities.
FIND OUT MORE: Visit Israel Footvolley on Facebook
“We are very happy to join the EFVL and we are looking forward to grow together with the european footvolley community. Israel is a big fan of the sport and we are certain that this step will help footvolley to flourish.”
Shalom Michaelshvili. Photo; Tal Shahar
Israel and the European Footvolley Championship (EFC)
With this late addition to the EFVL Israel has been invited to participate in the qualification tournament being organized the day prior to the first day of the EFC in Graz, Austria. Israel will also send a female team for the female tournament.
An action shot from the World Footvolley Tournament in Eilat 2018.
About the application process
Normal procedure for new EFVL memberships is that all member nations vote yes or no (one nation one vote). This can only happen at our annual meeting at the end of the year. New members will have to present themselves, and if voted Yes they will have to sign the statutes and the ethical code.
However, at the last meeting in Luzern 2017 we were preoccupied with officially founding EFVL under Swiss law. Unfortunately we did not have the time to address the question of new memberships.
Israel is now the 15th member after a unanimous but online vote, which is an exceptional situation. They have been waiting for 3 years, but the official signing will only take place in November 2018 when all the nations meet at our annual meeting.
Many countries want to be a part of EFVL, and we are eager to include more. In addition to the application from Israel we have interest from many more countries. Our administration department is looking into all of them and an important criteria is the footvolley culture in each country. Is there a footvolley history. Are they organized and how. Is there a national ranking open to all. Other criteria involved in the decision-making: geographical factors, safety of players and ambassadors, easy to travel and other practical matters. We also need to decide if a new member is an asset to the EFVL.
#welovefootvolley
We welcome Sweden to the EFVL family
We are happy to announce the inclusion of Sweden as a new member of the European Footvolley League. Sweden becomes the 14th member after a unanimous vote from the other nations.
We are happy to announce the inclusion of Sweden as a new member of the European Footvolley League. Sweden becomes the 14th member after a unanimous vote from the other nations.
About footvolley in Sweden 🇸🇪
Sweden is a nordic country with about 10 million people - most of them playing football, tennis or golf. However, footvolley is growing in popularity. Footvolley is mostly played in Malmö and Göteborg which are located in the south west of the country - close to the norwegian and danish border.
Malmö has good access to outdoor courts and an indoor arena with 3 courts for playing in the wintertime. Göteborg has fewer outdoor courts, but probably Europes best indoor arena with 16 courts - Beach Center.
Sweden has both male and female footvolley players and they have participated in a number of European tournaments in the past years. A female team also participated in the exhibition tournament in Rio in 2016.
“Sweden officially becoming a member of the European Footvolley League means a lot. This will put Sweden on the European footvolley map and it will help us promote the sport nationally and locally. We are looking forward to being an active part of the EFVL and the development of footvolley in Europe. ”
Sweden and the European Footvolley Championship (EFC)
With this late addition to the EFVL Sweden has been invited to participate in the qualification tournament being organized the day prior to the first day of the EFC in Graz, Austria. Sweden will also send a female team for the female tournament.
From the podium after the Scandinavian Footvolley Tour final in Malmö in 2013. Spain won with Netherlands on second. James Blondell and Per Ôgren from Sweden came in third.
About the application process
Normal procedure for new EFVL memberships is that all member nations vote yes or no (one nation one vote). This can only happen at our annual meeting at the end of the year. New members will have to present themselves, and if voted Yes they will have to sign the statutes and the ethical code.
However, at the last meeting in Luzern 2017 we were preoccupied with officially founding EFVL under Swiss law. Unfortunately we did not have the time to address the question of new memberships.
Sweden is now the 14th member after a unanimous but online vote, which is an exceptional situation. They have been waiting for 3 years, but the official signing will only take place in November 2018 when all the nations meet at our annual meeting.
Many countries want to be a part of EFVL, and we are eager to include more. In addition to the application from Sweden we have interest from 8 more countries. Our administration department is looking into all of them and an important criteria is the footvolley culture in each country. Is there a footvolley history. Are they organized and how. Is there a national ranking open to all. Other criteria involved in the decision-making: geographical factors, safety of players and ambassadors, easy to travel and other practical matters. We also need to decide if a new member is an asset to the EFVL.
We will release another new member nation shortly. Stay tuned.
World Footvolley Tournament in Eilat, Israel 🇮🇱
A lot of European men and women teams were involved in The World Red Sea Eilat Cup held in Eilat, Israel in mid march 2018. Reigning European champions Miguel Pinheiro & Nelson Pereira came up short in the final against Brazil, but delivered a good game against one of the best team in the world.
A lot of European men and women teams were involved in The World Red Sea Eilat Cup held in Eilat, Israel in mid march 2018. Reigning European champions Miguel Pinheiro & Nelson Pereira came up short in the final against Brazil, but delivered a good game against one of the best team in the world.
Portuguese and European champion Miguel Pinheiro with a shark block on Brazilian super star Eduardo Gasparini. The crowd witnessed a very high level in the final. Photo: Eilat Footvolley
Teams from around the world gathered in this traditional tournament and proved to be the biggest and most successful edition ever. Amongst the many countries who participated were; 🇬🇷Greece, 🇫🇷France, 🇳🇱Holland, 🇪🇸Spain, 🇵🇹Portugal, 🇳🇴Norway, 🇧🇷Brazil, 🇵🇾Paraguay, 🏴England, 🇦🇹Austria, 🇩🇪Germany, 🇺🇸USA and of course 🇮🇱Israel in the lineup.
It is nice to see the international footvolley family growing. It is especially nice to see so many women now finding their way into this amazing sport.
The tournament was administrated by Eilat Footvolley, Luiz Gomes and the help of the Israel Footvolley Association (IFA). The knock-out stages were broadcasted live on national television on Israel's channel 'One'; Israels most accredited sports channel.
Some of the best teams in the world participated in the tournament and in addition a few of Israels own best players like Maor Haas and Pascal Schmidt who won the European Groningen Cup and made it to the quarter finals in Eilat, as well as Israels current number one team, Oren Zuberi and Ron Ben Yishay who took 4th place in Eilat this year.
Results mens tournament
🏆1. place: 🇧🇷Brazil: Eduardo Gasparini & Marcellino Schiling
🥈2. place: 🇵🇹Portugal: Miguel Pinheiro & Nelson Pereira
🥉3. place: 🇵🇾Paraguay: Fernando Lugo & Victor Martinez
4. place: 🇮🇱Israel 1: Oren Zubeari & Ron Ben Vishay
Results womens tournament
🏆1. place: 🇧🇷Brazil: Natalia Guitler & Josy Souza
🥈2. place: 🇳🇱Holland 1: Evelyn Dobbinga & Isabel Harrysson Rodrigues
🥉3. place: 🇩🇪Germany: Rebecca Gabriell & Carolin Schultze
4. place : 🇳🇱Holland : Nynke Karrenbeld & Selma van Berkel
In the coming year another footvolley national league will take place and is expected to reach new heights in Israel. Besides the league there are many more tournaments planned for men and women. Educational and social projects are being worked on in order to keep the already rapidly growing community of footvolley players evolving, with a special focus on building interest from younger players.
The EFVL congratulates Israel with a well organized tournament with a very high level and the inclusion of so many EFVL-members.
Winners Eduardo Gasparini & Marcellino Schiling and Natalia Guitler & Josy Souza Photo: Eilat Footvolley