Our best and renowned Bulgarian volleyball referee Ivaylo Ivanov departed this evening for Thailand, where the Women's World Championship will be held. He will stay at least until the playoff stage. A total of 24 referees are traveling for the tournament, but only 6 will be selected for the decisive matches.

Ivanov will start with group matches in Phuket, where Belgium, Cuba, Olympic champion Italy, and Slovakia are competing. At a later stage, he will move to Bangkok, where hosts Thailand will play, as well as the Netherlands, Sweden, and Egypt.

On Thursday, it will become clear what Ivanov's first match will be and what his role will be - as first or second referee.