Simón in offensive action

Havana, November 17 (RHC/JIT)-- Three Cuban volleyball giants, Robertlandy Simón, Miguel Angel López and Marlon Yant, will participate in the World Men's Club Volleyball Championship, which will take place in Betim, Brazil from December 7 to 11.

Sensational center back Simon and young auxiliary attacker Yant will represent the Italian club Cucine Lube Civitanova, and fellow corner player Miguel Angel Lopez will represent Sada Cruzeiro of Brazil.

For Yant and Lopez it will be their first experience in the tournament.

The note from the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) on its website explains that Lube Civitanova will replace Polish club Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle, which originally qualified for the competition as a 2021 European Champions League qualifier, but was unable to confirm its presence due to problems stemming from covid-19.

Lube Civitanova is the champion of the 2019 edition held precisely in Betim, where Sada Cruzeiro won the silver medal and the Russian club Zenit Kazan won the bronze.

The other four teams confirmed by the FIVB are Trentino Itas (Italy), UPCN San Juan (Argentina), Sirjan Foolad (Iran) and Funvic (Brazil).

For the women's club competition to be held in Ankara, Turkey from December 15-19, the governing body of the sport ratified six teams.  

They are Carraro Imoco Conegliano (Italy), VakifBank Istanbul and Fenerbahce Opet Istanbul (Turkey), Minas Tênis Clube and Dentil Praia Clube (Brazil), and Altay Club (Kazakhstan).

In the previous world championship held in 2019 in Shaoxing, China, the Italian club Imoco Volley Conegliano won the place of honor, escorted by the Turkish teams Eczacibasi VitrA and VakifBank Istanbul.