The Italian Supercup, which will take place on November 14 and 15 in Parma, will also become an arena for protest against the reform of the international calendar proposed by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB). Italian clubs are preparing banners and protest messages on the LED screens in the PalaRaschi hall, and the Association of Italian Volleyball Players (AIP) no longer rules out strike actions.
According to a publication by Davide Romani inLa Gazzetta dello Sporton November 13, the decision for the protests was made at a meeting in Bologna a day earlier. Owners and representatives of more than 40 clubs from the SuperLega, Serie A2, and Serie A3 participated in it.
The clubs have agreed to use the two days of the Supercup to publicly express their disagreement with the proposed changes. After the championship resumes, the management of the Italian professional league will discuss new forms of protest with the Association of Volleyball Players.
The most serious warning comes from the president of AIP, Giorgio De Toni, a former middle blocker in the Italian SuperLega.
"If the problems we identified are not removed in the second proposal for the new international calendar, we are ready for what Americans call a strike," De Toni stated toLa Gazzetta dello Sport.
The reason for the dissatisfaction is the FIVB's intention to introduce windows for national teams during the winter months, when club championships are held. During these periods, world and continental championships are planned to be organized, alternating in different years.
Italian clubs and volleyball players point out three main problems – increased workload for athletes at the expense of their recovery and health, loss of revenue and interest in national championships during the key months of December and January for television and sponsors, as well as further shortening of the club season in favor of national teams.
The protest campaign began to gain momentum on October 29, when Perugia president Gino Sirci organized a press conference with the participation of head coach Angelo Lorenzetti and volleyball players Simone Giannelli, Oleh Plotnytskyi, and Kamil Semeniuk. At that time, the club launched the #NoClubsNoVolley ("No Clubs No Volleyball") initiative.
On November 6, the Italian professional men's and women's leagues, together with AIP, issued a joint statement under the extended slogan #NoClubsNoPlayersNoVolley ("No Clubs No Players No Volleyball").
According to data published byLa Gazzetta dello Sport, the overall campaign has garnered over 300,000 views, reached more than 150,000 unique users, and received over 5,400 likes. More than 300 male and female volleyball players from the Italian Serie A, including foreign athletes, have shared the messages on social media.
The International Federation has already announced that it will present a second version of the proposed international calendar by the end of 2026. However, it is still unclear whether it will take into account the objections of Italian clubs and athletes.
The conflict is also acquiring international dimensions. The Italian Federation supports the position of the clubs, while the Polish Federation has declared its support for the proposed changes. The Bulgarian Volleyball Federation also supports the idea of holding world and continental championships during the winter months, with President Lyubomir Ganev stating that this position is shared by the Bulgarian club leagues.
Thus, Bulgaria takes a different stance from Italy on an issue that directly affects Bulgarian nationals playing in the Italian championships. Among them are Aleksandar and Simeon Nikolov, Georgi Tatarov, Jasmin Velichkov, and Iliya Petkov.
The first visible manifestation of the organized discontent is expected as early as Saturday in Parma. In the Supercup semifinals, Perugia and Trento will meet, as well as Verona and Lube Civitanova with the Nikolov brothers.
While the four teams will fight for the first trophy of the season, the club owners and volleyball players will send a joint message to the FIVB. And if the next calendar proposal does not change the situation, Italian volleyball may move from symbolic protests to strike actions.