Teams receiving support from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program achieved significant success in the women`s 2024 CEV Volleyball European Leagues. In the European Golden League, Ukraine won the gold medal and Romania secured the bronze. Hungary finished with the silver. In the European Silver League, both finalists, champions Switzerland and runners-up Latvia, are also federations supported by the program.
Since 2022, the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program has supported the Ukraine Volleyball Federation`s volleyball and beach volleyball activities through a Memorandum of Understanding, providing USD 670,000 in funding to date. The Ukrainian women`s national team won the European Golden League title for the third time, adding the 2024 trophy to their 2017 and 2023 victories. They qualified for the Final Four in Sweden last week by finishing the League Round in second place with a 5-1 record and 15 points. In the semifinals on Saturday in Engelholm, they defeated the host team 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-18). In the final on Sunday, they secured a 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-16, 25-17) victory over Hungary to claim the gold. Ukraine`s 23-year-old setter, Daria Sharhorodska, was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.
The Romanian Volleyball Federation (Federatia Romana de Volei) has received USD 168,000 in FIVB support for national team coaches and USD 11,500 for equipment. Their women`s national team, led by Spanish head coach Guillermo Naranjo Hernandez, finished first in the League Round with a 5-1 record and 16 points, one point ahead of Ukraine. In their semifinal match, they were narrowly defeated 3-2 (10-25, 25-22, 25-12, 16-25, 15-9) by Hungary. However, Romania bounced back in the bronze medal match, winning another tough five-set encounter against Sweden 3-2 (17-25, 25-20, 21-25, 26-24, 15-13) to earn their podium spot.
Notably, the bronze medal match set a new attendance record for women`s volleyball in Sweden, drawing over four thousand fans to the Catena Arena.
The teams ranking from fifth to twelfth place in the final Golden League standings were Slovenia, Slovakia, Greece, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, Montenegro, and Azerbaijan.
Women`s 2024 CEV Volleyball European Silver League
Swiss Volley has received USD 126,000 in FIVB support for their national team coaches. Their women`s national team, coached by Australia`s Lauren Bertolacci, won the European Silver League title for the first time. They finished the League Round undefeated (6-0, 18 points) without dropping a set, qualifying for the home and away final against Latvia. Latvia won the first match at home 3-2 (25-17, 21-25, 32-30, 22-25, 15-8), but Switzerland responded with a dominant 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-19) sweep in the second leg to clinch the trophy.
Latvia reached their historic first Silver League final by finishing the League Round as runners-up with a 4-2 record and 13 points. The Volleyball Federation of Latvia has been allocated a total of USD 462,000 in FIVB support for national team coaches and USD 210,500 for equipment.
Rounding out the Silver League standings from third to ninth were Austria, Israel, Georgia, Iceland, North Macedonia, Luxembourg, and the Faroe Islands.
Oliver Wrenwick 
Finley Blackwood