Luxembourg, March 19, 2016. Europe’s Volleyball family is entering a new era and this is the task that CEV President Aleksandar Boričić and his colleagues on the CEV Board of Administration have taken up with a lot of passion and energy right by their first plenary meeting held on Saturday at the real ‘home’ of European Volleyball in Luxembourg City.
This was indeed the first meeting of the CEV Board of Administration following last year’s General Assembly and elections and so there was much to discuss as the CEV leadership have set out the ambitious goal of re-shaping CEV as an institution as well as its perception by fans, media and all stakeholders.
The new era consists primarily in an open exchange of views and debate on how to best promote Volleyball and Beach Volleyball and to lay the foundation for their growth and development for years to come. The members of the CEV Board of Administration, the CEV Commissions as well as all those working for the good of Volleyball are therefore invited to come forward with their ideas and proposals to pursue the strategic vision and the goals set out by the CEV leadership.
This means frankness and an open mind are required especially when evaluating the current strengths and weaknesses of the sport as well as of the CEV as an institution. All members of Europe’s Volleyball family are asked to step up their efforts, openly exchanging views and cooperating more closely in order to coordinate all activities which are being carried out to better the game and modernise its image.
The CEV is expected to turn into a service institution supporting National Federations and clubs in all of their endeavours, as well as all stakeholders who can play a role in growing Volleyball and Beach Volleyball at all levels.
Saturday’s Board of Administration meeting reflected this new philosophy and strategic vision, with intensive discussions involving all members on how to best to re-shape the CEV and its work. In this sense, the consulting company TSE briefed the Board on the first results of an analysis which has so far involved the National Federations and will now continue in the coming months in order to finalise a strategic long-term plan that will be presented at the next CEV General Assembly in November.
The re-shaping of the CEV and its work was initiated already via the establishment of a Marketing Working Group that will be responsible for studying and identifying ways on how to best market Volleyball and Beach Volleyball in an effort to get more sponsors and partners on board.
On top of this, the Board approved the re-instalment of a Coaches Commission as well as the creation of an Athletes Working Group, acknowledging that these – coaches and athletes – are key actors in the sport and their contribution is vital to support the development of both Volleyball and Beach Volleyball at all levels.
The CEV leadership have already started a project focussing on the so-called Top Sports Events where more attention will be deserved to marketing, communication and promotional activities in order to raise their profile and deliver a ‘real experience’ for the fans, a show unfolding on and especially off the court that everyone wants to be a part of. This approach will be applied to a number of premier Volleyball and Beach Volleyball competitions which represent the ‘core’ of the CEV portfolio.
The financial implications of such an approach are being studied as well with the CEV leadership agreeing on the necessity to find new ways to get money to grow the sport, especially by liaising with governments, national and international authorities and exploiting the funds made available by the European Union and the Olympic Solidarity Programme.
Volleyball and Beach Volleyball are entering a new era and the CEV are acting as pioneer also in the support given to Snow Volleyball, with the first events placed under the CEV authority having turned into a major success and confirming there is room for a further development of this discipline in the near future.
“I am pleased with the outcome of the meeting but I can say this is only the beginning of a new era,” CEV President Boričić commented. “We have to continue with the same open and frank dialogue we had today, exchanging views and ideas while adjusting our approach to the extremely diverse circumstances we find across our 55 members. One thing is for sure: the CEV will equally support and stand by all those who work to develop and improve our sport, be it at the elite or at the grassroots level.”
