Volleyball World, the new commercial joint venture between the FIVB, the international volleyball federation, and CVC Capital Partners, the private equity firm, has announced the launch of its Beach Pro Tour next year.
The inaugural season is set to take place in multiple locations around the world from March 2022 until late November 2022.
It will replace the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour and will be played across three different levels – Elite16, Challenge and Futures – all of which will be played in a single-elimination format.
The Elite16 competitions, the highest level of the Beach Pro Tour, will see 16 teams for both men and women that will be divided into four pools of four and will complete a total of 64 matches over a four-day period. There will be no qualifiers.
The Challenge level, the feeder to the Elite16 level, will comprise 24 teams per gender, divided into six pools of four, who will compete in a total of 80 matches during its four-to-five day main draw. For this level, up to 32 teams can take part in main draw qualifiers.
The Futures tournament is the feeder to the Challenge level, featuring 16 teams that will be divided into four pools of four. The tournament will be played over a four-to-five day period and run to a total of 56 matches. Only 16 teams can take part in the main draw qualifiers at this level.
The best 10 teams will take part in the finals, which will conclude each season.
So far 12 competitions have been confirmed for the 2022 calendar, with more to be announced in due course.
