Volleyball in Brazil
Volleyball is the second-most practiced sport in Brazil, with around 15.3 million players nationwide. The sport was first practiced in 1915, at Colégio Marista in the northeastern city of Recife – where the Liga Pernambucana takes place today.
As a national team, Brazil is one of the most successful in world volleyball competitions. It has triumphed in the Olympics, the World Cup, Nations League, Grand Prix, and World League – in both men’s and women’s competitions. The sport is often practiced in both indoor and outdoor (beach) settings, by a variety of ages. The main indoor national competition for both men and women is the Superliga, comprising of Divisions A, B, and C.
The sport in Pernambuco and the Liga
After a number of years without major adult competitions taking place, the state of Pernambuco can finally return to have a championship to watch on the court. The Liga Pernambucana features not only teams from the state of Pernambuco, but also teams from the wider northeastern region of the country. The Liga will also feature teams from areas including Alagoas, Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte.
The new league is an incredible opportunity to develop the sport in the region, promoting the development of new athletes and the growth of new teams and organisations that could, one day, be playing the Superliga. In fact, a number of players (and teams) already have Superliga experience and they bring that into the Liga.
There is a whole host of young, talented athletes that will be complemented by the older, more experienced players. This will make for well-balanced and exciting teams, taking the competitiveness of the tournament to a new level.
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The competition
Both the men’s and women’s competitions feature a 12-team league. The format consists of a round-robin in which each team plays every other team once. Beyond that, the top eight teams advance to the playoff knockout tournament. The regular season began at the end of February and is slated to run until the middle of August.
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The competition has a number of venues that will be hosting the games: Caruaru, Recife, Santa Cruz do Capibaribe and Cabo de Santo Agostinho have all been appointed host cities. The league will have around 280 regular season and playoff games.
There will be plenty of drama to follow throughout the season, and the Liga has only just begun. The current leader of the men’s league is the EDMUR MVC team. They sit at the top with 12 points: five games, four wins and one defeat. They average 20.26 points per set.
Match Vôlei currently top the women’s league with eight points. They have a 100% record, winning all three of their games so far and hitting an average of 22.33 points per set.
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Stay tuned as we bring you coverage of the Liga Pernambucana, using official statistics, in the coming weeks and months.
