Host Russia, Serbia, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany as well as France will start Tuesday to compete for the three remaining European spots in the 2009 FIVB World Grand Prix.
The tournament is set to be staged in Omsk, Russia and the top three teams after the round robin format will get a ticket for next year's competition and join Poland, which benefited of a wild-card granted directly by the FIVB.
The head coaches of the six teams are set to show their best in Omsk after the Olympic Games in Beijing one month ago.
Zoran Terzic, Serbian head coach, said "we have never qualified for the FIVB World Grand Prix so far, now we are ready to seize our chance. It will be an interesting constellation here in Omsk."
Massimo Barbolini added: "After the Olympic Games in China, many teams changed their line-ups, including my Italian team. We would like to start a new episode."
For the French head coach Fabrice Vial, "it's a big challenge for France to compete on such a high level tournament. We are the outsiders but we try to bother our opponents as much as possible."
For the Dutch head coach Avital Selinger, "the tournament in Omsk is very important for the future. We added five young players; we'll see what will happen."
For the German head coach Giovanni Guidetti, "the Netherlands are one of the favorites of this tournament. And also Serbia will probably be very strong. My team is ready, but we still need some experience playing without Angelina Gran."
There will be 12 teams next year in the World Grand Prix scheduled for a four-week period in July and August, with the preliminary rounds set for July 31 to August 16, including a stop in Brazil for the first time, and the final round from August 19-23 in Tokyo, Japan.
Japan, China, Brazil, the United States, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are the teams already qualified. Two other places will be decided at the Asian Women's Cup Volleyball Championship from October 1-7.
(Xinhua News Agency September 16, 2008)