FIVB continues to support French national beach volleyball teams ahead of Paris 2024

The FIVB reiterated its commitment to developing beach volleyball national teams in France ahead of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 as FIVB President Dr Ary S. Graça F° signed an agreement with French Volleyball Federation (FFvolley) President Eric Tanguy for coach support in 2023 through the Volleyball Empowerment targeted support programme.

The agreement was signed during a meeting between the FIVB and FFvolley at the FIVB Headquarters, with the aim of leveraging the Paris 2024 to further the sport’s development in France.

French duo of Lézana Placette and Alexia Richard at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Rome

The project follows four years of coach support from 2019-2022, and implements a multi-stakeholder approach to maximise funding. The total annual cost of the project is 1.3 million USD, with the FIVB contributing 17 per cent of this total. The remaining funding comes from a partnership with the National Federation, National Olympic Committee, Ministry of Sports and the Government.

Following the meeting, FIVB President Dr Ary S Graça F° said:

“I am delighted to continue supporting the development of beach volleyball in France through targeted national team support by providing the relevant human and technical resources to improve their national teams ahead of the country hosting the Olympic Games in 2024.

“The multi-stakeholder support model we have established with other stakeholders within the Olympic Movement and other sports bodies in France, as well as local government, ensures the best possible results and a long-lasting legacy for the sport in the country. This model works very well and we are excited to see the progress of France’s beach volleyball national teams.”

French men's team Youssef Krou and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat topped the men’s podium at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Torquay Elite16 event earlier this month

The overall goal of this long-term project is for the national teams to reach the podium at Paris 2024 and, ultimately, build a lasting legacy for beach volleyball development in France with the Olympic Games as a vehicle to steer people towards the sport in the country.

FFvolley President Eric Tanguy said:

“We have been working with the support from the FIVB and other sports stakeholders for a few years now, and I believe the programme has allowed us to better structure and strengthen the staff of our beach volleyball sector. We have already seen great results on the court at the Beach Pro Tour Challenge event and the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships 2022.

“With the current programme, we are aiming for long-term and consistent international success for our beach volleyball national teams, while our short-term goal is to strengthen our performance towards the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Our overall goal is beyond this Olympic cycle as we want to elevate the level of the French beach volleyball teams for Olympic Games LA28 and Brisbane 2032.”