Parma officially presented the Final Four for the Italian Volleyball Supercup, which will take place on November 14 and 15 in the "PalaRaschi" hall. Four of the strongest clubs in the world will compete for the trophy, and among the participants will be Bulgarian national players Aleksandar and Simeon Nikolov with the Lube Civitanova team.
The official press conference took place on November 9 in the Parma municipality building, where representatives of the local government and the management of the Italian Serie A presented the organization of the tournament.
In the first semifinal on Saturday, November 14, at 3:30 PM Bulgarian time, Perugia will face Trento. The two teams also met in the championship on Sunday evening, when Perugia won after a tie-break.
From 6:00 PM, but not earlier, Rana Verona and Lube Civitanova will determine the second finalist. The two teams also met in the previous edition of the tournament, when Verona managed to qualify for the final.
The decisive match for the trophy will be played on Sunday, November 15, at 7:00 PM Bulgarian time. The semifinals will be broadcast on Rai Sport and VBTV, and the final on Rai 2 and VBTV.
Massimo Righi: Some Olympic and World Finals are inferior to these matches
The president of the Italian Volleyball League, Massimo Righi, emphasized the exceptional sporting level of the participants and the importance of the return of big volleyball to Parma.
"Four top clubs will participate in the Final Four. Such finals represent the highest level of world volleyball. Sometimes even Olympic or World Finals are technically inferior to these matches. The spectacle is guaranteed," Righi stated.
However, the head of the Italian league used the presentation of the tournament to sharply criticize the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) for the planned change to the international calendar.
"A decision dictated solely by economic motives"
According to Righi, the proposal for World and Continental Championships to be held between mid-November and mid-December after the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games will deal a serious blow to club volleyball.
"FIVB wants World and Continental Championships to be held from mid-November to mid-December after the Los Angeles Olympics. This will even take away space from events like the Supercup and interrupt the championship for more than a month," he warned.
Righi did not hide the Italian league's position:
"We are working to prevent this from happening and to continue to guarantee big club volleyball. This is a decision by the International Federation, made solely for economic reasons. We are trying to preserve these periods to continue offering such events to cities."
His statement comes at a time when the future international calendar is causing serious disagreements in the volleyball community. Just a few hours earlier in Sofia, the president of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation, Lyubomir Ganev, announced that the Bulgarian federation supports the proposed changes, specifying that the managements of the Bulgarian club leagues have also expressed a similar position.
"PalaRaschi" once again hosts big volleyball
Hosting the Supercup also has symbolic significance for Parma - a city with a rich volleyball history that has long been absent from the biggest stage.
Mayor Michele Guerra described the event as an opportunity to restore the connection between the city and professional volleyball, and municipal sports councilor Marco Bozzi announced that after the completed works, the facility will once again be able to accommodate more than 4,000 spectators.
The chairman of the local structure of the Italian federation, Cesare Gandolfi, recalled that the last time the hall was filled to capacity was the match between Italy and Cuba in 2011.
The executive director of the Italian league, Fabio Fissetto, noted that almost all volleyball players from the Italian national team, as well as a number of the biggest stars from other national teams, will participate in the Final Four.
According to the organizers, interest in the event is extremely high among both the local audience and the supporters of the four participating clubs.

photo:legavolley.it