The national volleyball team of Cuba is preparing to compete in an upcoming regional competition with the goal of regaining its previous level of supremacy so that it may qualify for the world championships later this year as the top team in the region.
According to Xinhua, the North American, Central American, and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (Norceca) Championship will be held from September 22-28 in Langley, Canada. In order for the team to qualify for the World Grand Champions Cup, which will be hosted by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) in November, they will first need to win the Norceca Championship and defeat their competitors from the region.
Since Cuba has won the previous two Norceca tournaments and a total of 15 championships during the course of Norceca’s 22-year history, this shouldn’t be too difficult for Cuba.
Cuba, along with Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, will be competing in Group B of the Norceca event.
Group A is comprised of the United States of America, the Dominican Republic, and Saint Lucia. Group C is comprised of Mexico, Guatemala, and the host nation of Canada.
The top two teams from each group will move on to the semifinal stage, and the teams that finished third in their respective groups will compete against one another.
Cuba won the Norceca title, which was contested in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. They defeated the United States, who were the defending Olympic winners, by a score of three sets to two.
The winner of the Norceca tournament will represent North America in the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup, which will be held in Japan from November 19-24 and feature the top teams from Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, and North America (Norceca).
However, Cuba is entering this year’s competition after having its worst result in the history of the World League. In the preliminary round, Cuba won only one match out of a total of ten matches played.
For additional details regarding the Grand Championships Cup, click here
