· The FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme aims to support the long-term strategy of the Faroese Volleyball Association to increase the popularity of volleyball
· The FIVB has been supporting the Faroe Islands’ national volleyball men’s and women’s teams with coach support since 2022
· Faroe Islands’ women’s volleyball team debuted at the CEV European Silver League 2023 and achieved a historic win at a continental level match against Georgia, 3-1
· The latest achievements of the Faroese Volleyball Association include team participation at continental level and securing a local TV partner
The Faroese Volleyball Association (FBF) has mapped out a long-term strategy to increase the visibility of volleyball in the Faroe Islands and to raise the level of the game higher. This shall be achieved, in part, through leveraging the support of the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme.
In the North Atlantic Ocean archipelago, football and handball are the more popular sports. However, according to FBF President Peter Holm, with this new strategy, FBF is working hard on boosting the popularity of volleyball.
At the heart of this strategy is the improvement of its senior national teams with the support of the transformational FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme. The FIVB has invested CHF 36,000 into coach support for the Faroe Islands’ senior national teams since 2022, with Argentine coach Cristian Imhoff taking charge of the women’s team and Serbian coach Boban Ilic managing the men’s team.
Argentine coach Cristian Imhoff (left) is in charge of the Faroe Islands women’s team under FIVB Volleyball Empowerment (Photo credits: CEV)
“Boban has lived in the Faroe Islands for 20 years, so he has a good grasp of Faroese volleyball while Imhoff has worked with the women’s team for a year now. As we are now facing very strong opponents it is very important for us that we can already see some good performances in the matches and for us in the short term, this is more important than the result itself. This gives us fuel to continue on the path we have already started,” said FBF President Peter Holm.
He added: “We want to create idols at national team level as this will help us show the young generation what they should be striving for. With the support from Volleyball Empowerment, it will take us close to five years for our national teams to compete at the high level. It’s an important tool for our strategic plan that our national teams participate in major CEV competitions.”
Faroe Islands women’s team celebrate a point during the CEV European Silver League 2023. (Photo credits: CEV)
While the senior national teams from the Faroe Islands previously only played international matches within the zonal framework of the CEV Small Countries Association (SCA), and the youth teams played within the North European Volleyball Zonal Association (NEVZA), as part of this new strategy teams have started to participate in continental CEV competitions.
Both the men’s and women’s national teams were involved in the 2023 European Championship qualifications. In 2023, the teams featured in the European Silver League for the first time, with the women’s team claiming a historic 3-1 win over Georgia, their first-ever at a continental-level competition. The teams will participate in the 2024 Silver League as well.
The strategic plan that was rolled out in 2021 also aims to develop the sport further at youth level. As part of this, FBF has established a volleyball school where all children can attend training sessions with the youth and senior national team coaches twice a week - both for elite and development players.
A number of junior teams are also set to represent the Faroe Islands in CEV qualifications for U18 and U20 in the NEVZA.
Further, FBF has reached an agreement with a local TV partner to broadcast all matches from their topflight leagues. The proceeds from TV rights as well as funding from sponsors and government through the Faroese Confederation of Sport will help to fund the innovative volleyball strategy.