Brazil will stage the 2002 World League Volleball finals. The International Volleyball Federation announced on Friday that 16 teams will compete for 15 million in prize money.
Besides defending champion Brazil, the field consists of Argentina, China, Cuba, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Venezuela and Yugoslavia. The teams will compete in a six-weekend round-robin tournament in the 16 countries starting June 28-30. The top eight will qualify for the finals in Brazil August12-18. The two host cities in Brazil will be designated later. The four pools for the qualifying rounds:
Pool A: Brazil, Poland, Argentina, Portugal
Pool B: Italy, Spain, China, Venezuela
Pool C: Russia, Cuba, Netherlands, Germany Pool D: Yugoslavia, France, Greece, Japan.
Bureau Report