The 19th FIVB Volleyball Girls` U19 World Championship is set to begin, hosted by Croatia and Serbia over the next 12 days. The Croatian city of Osijek and the Serbian spa resort town of Vrnjacka Banja will welcome the 24 top youth national teams from Wednesday, July 2nd, to Sunday, July 13th.
The tournament kicks off on Wednesday at 15:15 local time (13:15 UTC) with four matches played simultaneously across the two venues in Osijek and Vrnjacka Banja. Initial matches include Egypt vs. Canada (Pool A) and Bulgaria vs. Poland (Pool C) in Croatia, while Argentina vs. Puerto Rico (Pool B) and Japan vs. Belgium (Pool D) will start in Serbia.
The 24 teams are divided into four pools of six for the preliminary round, contested over the first five days. Pool A consists of Canada, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Mexico, and Thailand. Pool B includes Argentina, Brazil, Chinese Taipei, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Serbia. Pool C features Bulgaria, Peru, Poland, Spain, Turkiye, and the USA. Pool D comprises Belgium, Chile, China, Italy, Japan, and Tunisia.
The top four teams from each pool advance to the eighthfinals (Round of 16). Teams finishing fifth or sixth will play off for places 17th through 24th. The playoff system involves winners moving to a higher tier bracket and losers moving to a lower tier bracket until the final standings from 1st to 24th are determined on July 12th and 13th.
The preliminary rounds run from July 2nd to July 7th, with a rest day on July 5th. The Round of 16 is scheduled for July 8th. After two days off for travel between venues, the quarterfinals will be on July 11th, semifinals on July 12th, and the medal matches to decide the champions on July 13th.
Match start times daily (except the final day) are 15:15, 18:15, and 21:15 local time (13:15, 16:15, 19:15 UTC). On the final day, July 13th, there will be two matches per court at 15:15 and 18:15 to determine places 1st through 16th. Playoffs for 17th to 24th places conclude on Saturday, July 12th.
This championship follows 18 previous editions held from 1989 to 2023. Serbia hosts for the first time, while this is Croatia`s third time overall and second in a row, having previously hosted in Pula and Rijeka (2001) and co-hosted in Osijek (2023).
Historically, China leads with four U19 girls` world titles. Brazil holds the most medals overall with 10 (three gold, four silver, three bronze). Russia (including as Soviet Union) also has three titles, while Italy, Japan, and the USA have won two each.
Past MVPs include notable players like Brazil`s Natalia Pereira, China`s Yuan Xinyue, and Italy`s Paola Egonu, who became senior international stars. The tournament often highlights future talent – who will emerge as the MVP this year?
Oliver Wrenwick 
Finley Blackwood