The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) wants to finally settle the long-simmering dispute in the country’s vibrant volleyball scene.

The international federation sent a request to the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) to supervise the election aimed to combine the two squabbling factions – Larong Volleyball ng Pilipinas (LVPI) and Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF).

Neither of these pair of national sports associations (NSAs) are accredited by the FIVB.

The FIVB strongly recommended to hold the elections before the volleyball World Congress on February 5 to 7 in order for the international federation to present the accredited NSA.

“Following the letter sent in August 2020 requesting that open and transparent general elections of the Philippine volleyball National Federation be organized, we would also like to take this opportunity to kindly ask you to schedule a date as soon as possible for these democratic elections with the participation of relevant stakeholders,” wrote FIVB general director Fabio Azevedo.

POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino stressed the urgency of the elections as the country would be barred from participating in FIVB tournaments without an accredited local association.

“Therefore, we will ask all volleyball stakeholders to cooperate and participate in the elections,” said Tolentino after the POC Executive Board held its first meeting of the year on Tuesday, January 12, at the East Ocean Garden Restaurant in Pasay City.

Major players in Philippine volleyball scene include the recently-professionalized Premier Volleyball League (PVL) and semi-professional Philippine Super Liga (PSL), which are considered rival leagues.

Tolentino told Rappler that as of today, both factions have agreed to participate in the elections.

Other stakeholders include the men’s semi-professional league Spiker’s Turf, Beach Volleyball Republic and college leagues UAAP and NCAA. – Rappler.com