VNL 2024 confirms Macau round in May-June next year

Volleyball’s International governing body, FIVB, has confirmed Macau will be part of next year’s Women’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) world tour.

The FIVB’s final layout and VNL 2024 calendar confirms Macau will be part of Week 2 from May 28 to June 2 next year.

The Macau tournament now has a new format with rounds played over six consecutive days.

Eight national teams will participate in the Macau round, in a venue yet to be announced. They are China, the Dominican Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, Brazil, Thailand, Japan and France.

Sources familiar with the event’s organization indicated the matches are likely to take place in the newly inaugurated Galaxy Arena, at the Galaxy International Convention Center in Cotai. This move would mark the conclusion of the use of the old Macau Forum venue, located beside the Sports Bureau (ID) headquarters, for international events of this nature.

The Galaxy Arena venue, which seats 16,000, is the largest venue of its kind in Macau. Its use will enable more spectators to watch the games, providing more comfortable amenities and incorporating all the modern features to be expected from such a venue.

The VNL was last played in Macau in 2019, with the 2021 event canceled because of Macau’s Covid-19 border restrictions.

Teams will use this year’s VNL event not just as a regular competition but also as preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics, which start a few weeks after the VNL finals in late June.

In line with its past tradition, Galaxy Entertainment Group will sponsor the Macau VNL 2024 round.

The ID has said the organizing entities are currently preparing the event with further information on the match schedules of each day as well as ticket sales to be disclosed at a later stage via the event’s official website (http://macaovnl.com/).