Men’s World Championship by the numbers

Did you know that nine of the 19 editions of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship played so far were won by countries that no longer exist (Soviet Union x 6, Czechoslovakia x 2, East Germany x1)? Nineteen is also the number Slovenian rising star Rok Mozic will wear on his jersey when his country co-hosts this year’s competition.

· Watch all FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship 2022 matches live on Volleyball TV.

Here are some of the other numbers linked to the sport’s flagship event, which begins on Friday.

1949 – The inaugural edition of the Men’s World Championship was held in Prague in 1949, with the Soviet Union triumphing as the first world champions, accompanied on the podium by hosts Czechoslovakia as the silver medallists and Bulgaria with bronze.

221 – There was only one World Championship final in history that lasted five sets. A total of 221 points were scored in the Argentina 2002 gold medal match, when Brazil claimed a 3-2 (23-25, 27-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-13) victory over Russia.

52 – A total of 52 matches will be played under a new format to be applied at the 2022 World Championship. 30 of them will be held in Slovenia and the other 22 in Poland.

24 – The number of participants in a World Championship has varied through the years. It was set at 24 for the Japan 1998 edition and has been unchanged since.

18 – Bulgaria are the most experienced World Championship participant among the teams who will compete at Poland-Slovenia 2022. The southern European nation was represented at 18 of the previous 19 editions of the event, missing only the 1960 tournament in Brazil.

16 – The 24 participating teams will start the 2022 World Championship split into six round-robin pools of four. 16 of them – all pool winners, all pool runners-up and the best four third-placed teams – will advance to the knockout stage.

15 – Fifteen countries have earned a World Championship medal. They are Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany (also as GDR), Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia (also as USSR), Serbia (also as Yugoslavia) and USA.

12 – Russia and predecessor state USSR have won the most World Championship medals in history. Their tally of 12 podiums includes the Soviet Union’s 11 and Russia’s 2002 silver.

11 – The previous editions of the World Championship have been hosted by 11 different countries – Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union, France, Brazil, Bulgaria, Mexico, Italy, Argentina, Greece, Japan and Poland. 2022 co-hosts Slovenia will be the 12th country to welcome World Championship matches. Italy are the only country to have hosted three different editions, in 1978, 2010 and 2018.

7 – Only seven countries have deserved the honour to be named men’s volleyball world champions in history. They are the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Poland, the United States, Italy and Brazil, in chronological order of their first world title.

6 – The Soviet Union won six of the first 10 World Championship editions between 1949 and 1982 and still hold the record for highest number of titles won by a single country.

3 – There will be three different venues for this year’s edition of the Men’s World Championship. The official full capacity of Arena Gliwice in Poland is for 17,178 spectators, including seating room for over 13 thousand. It is the largest of the three World Championship 2022 venues. Dvorana Stozice in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana can seat up to 12,480 fans, while the Spodek in Katowice, where the final will be held, can accommodate about 11 thousand people.

3 – Three is the highest number of consecutive titles won by the same country. It was first achieved by Italy, who claimed the world crowns in 1990, 1994 and 1998, and then matched by Brazil who triumphed in 2002, 2006 and 2010. World Championship 2022 co-hosts Poland could be the third team to win three titles in a row, after winning the 2014 and the 2018 editions.

1 – One team will make their first World Championship appearance at Poland-Slovenia 2022. Qatar, who qualified thanks to their position in the FIVB World Ranking, are the only rookies in the upcoming edition. Another two teams, Slovenia and Ukraine, will participate for the second time.

FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship Poland Slovenia 2022: Full schedule