Graca Re-elected Volleyball President

(ATR) Ary Graça has pledged to find new ways to modernise and evolve the sport after being handed another eight years at the helm of the international volleyball federation.

He was re-elected by acclamation at the FIVB World Congress in Buenos Aires after standing unopposed for the presidency he first secured in 2012. He had already received the support of the federation’s five continental confederations. Representatives from 193 national federations were in attendance.

"Volleyball is undoubtedly in a golden era of success and it is an honor for me to have the prestigious opportunity to build on this great success and take our sport to even greater heights," the 73-year-old told the congress.

"There is no limit to the evolution of volleyball, no limit to the sport’s success and no limit to how many people around the world we can inspire and I promise to help volleyball fulfil its huge potential."

"Thank you to the global volleyball family for believing in my vision, together we will make volleyball the number one family sport entertainment in the world."

At the congress, Graça spoke about the success of his sport at the Rio Olympics and London 2012. He is credited with helping transform volleyball into a more dynamic and universal sport and growing fan engagement.

Graca called for the volleyball family to embrace new innovations and technologies to drive the sport forward.

"We are curious. We know there are always more things we can learn. We are not afraid of what is new. We encourage new thinking, new ideas, new technologies, new ways of looking at our sport," he told delegates.

"How can we expect our sport to be the number one family sport entertainment if we do not keep evolving?"

Last September, Graça launched the FIVB’s 9 Goals which set out the federation’s long-term strategic plan. Most of them prioritise innovative improvements to the sport and the FIVB is already reporting benefits. Goal two was to increase the FIVB’s engagement with digital media; the federation said it has quickly achieved its original target of reaching one million users across its digital platforms.

"We must not only follow changes in digital technology. We must lead them," Graça told the congress.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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