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Kenya’s National Women’s Volleyball team, Malkia Strikers, will face host Netherlands, European champions Italy, African rivals Cameroon, Belgium and South American’s Puerto Rico, in Pool A of FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship, 2022.

The championship, co-hosted by the Netherlands and Poland, is scheduled to take place from September 23rd to October 15th, 2022, featuring 24 teams from across the five continental federations, which have been drawn into four pools of six teams each. Co-host Poland, is in Pool B alongside Turkey, the Dominican Republic, Korea, Thailand, and Croatia.

Olympic champions and current FIVB World ranking leaders USA, headlines Pool C, which also features 2018 defending world champions Serbia, Germany, Bulgaria, Canada, and Kazakhstan.

World’s number two, South American champions Brazil, lead the line-up in Pool D which also includes China, Japan, Colombia, Argentina and the Czech Republic.

“First and foremost, our congratulations to the team that certainly will deliver the most electrifying volleyball show on earth,” Alice Kessler, Head of Volleyball Events at Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) said, as she welcomed the body’s president Dr. Ary Graça.

“Today we have drawn the pools for one of the greatest sports events on earth, the FIVB Volleyball Women World Championship 2022, co-hosted by the Netherlands and Poland. A total of 24 teams, including the two host nations, reigning world champions Serbia, and the top teams in the world ranking will represent the five continental federations with the sports leading athletes on show. No doubt, the level of volleyball will be the highest ever. Best of luck to all the participating teams,” Dr. Graça said.

The championship will be played in phases, and for the first time ever in the history of the volleyball championships, the 24 participating teams will start the competition at the same host city, and the same venue in Arnhem, Netherlands.

The competition will start with the first phase preliminaries, with the top four teams in each pool advancing to the second phase which will feature two pools of eight teams each (to be played in Rotterdam and Lodz), and the record African champions, Malkia Strikers, will be eyeing to finish among the top four teams from Pool A, to qualify to the second phase.

“At the end of the first phase, the top four teams from each pool, a total of 16 teams, will advance to the second phase, and will be placed in two pools of eight teams each,” Kessler explained.

Each team will play four matches in their respective pools, facing only the teams they didn’t meet during the first phase. After the second phase, the top four teams from each pool, that’s, eight teams in total, will advance to the last phase of the competition and will compete in a direct elimination format, in the quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals, and then the finals.

“What a journey it has been so far. With the building anticipation, we look forward to electrifying matches that these 24 teams will oer to us. I’d like to extend our congratulations to all the participating teams, we wish you the best of luck,” Kessler concluded.