Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) is the international governing body for the sport of volleyball. Its headquarters are located in Lausanne, Switzerland.

History

The FIVB was founded in Paris, France in 1947. In the late 1940s, some of the European national federations began to address the issue of creating an international governing body for the sport of volleyball. Initial discussions eventually lead to the installation of a Constitutive Congress in 1947. Fourteen national federations representing five different continents attended the meetings where, between April 18 and 20, the entity was officially formed, having Frenchman Mr. Paul Libaud as first president.

One of the main goals of the 1947 Congress was achieved two years later with the establishment of the first international major volleyball event, the World Championship. In 1952, a women's version of the tournament was also introduced.

In 1964, the IOC endorsed the addition of volleyball to the Olympic program. By this time, the number of national federations affiliated to the FIVB had grown to 89. Later in that year (1969), a new international event, the World Cup was introduced. It would be turned into a qualifying event for the Olympic Games in 1991.

Following the retirement of Mr. Libaud and the election of Mexican Mr. Rubén Acosta Hernandez for the position of president in 1984, the FIVB moved its headquarters from Paris, France to Lausanne, Switzerland and intensified to an unprecedented level its policy of promoting volleyball on a worldwide basis. Measures taken in this direction include the establishment of annual competitions for men's and women's volleyball (the World League, in 1990, and the Grand Prix, in 1993), the indication of Beach volleyball as an Olympic event (1996) and a number of changes in the rules of the game with the purpose of enhancing public visibility.

As of 2006, the FIVB counted 219 affiliated national federations.

Activities

The FIVB's main activity is worldwide planning and organization of volleyball events, sometimes in conjunction with other international governing bodies such as the IOC. This involves defining qualification procedures and competition formulae for tournaments, as well as more specific details such as player line-up and replacement restrictions, venues and hosts.

Amongst others, the FIVB organizes the following international volleyball events:

• Olympic Games
• World Championship
• World Cup
• World League
• World Grand Prix
• World Grand Champions Cup
• Swatch FIVB World Tour

and also:

• Men's U21 World Championship
• Women's U20 World Championship
• Boys' U19 World Championship
• Girls' U18 World Championship