Lausanne, Switzerland

After its two-day annual meeting, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Sports Events Council has finalized the qualification process for 12 teams that will see action in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The FIVB has decided that the 2016 cast will be made up of two teams from the 2015 World Cup and one team from each confederation coming from the 2015 continental championships or a continental Olympic qualification tournament to be played after the 2015 World Cup.

One team from each of four World Olympic qualification tournaments due to take place in 2016 and the host country will also play in the 2016 edition of the quadrennial meet.

The Sports Event Council, chaired by FIVB executive vice-president Aleksandar Boricic, has finalized the individual qualification criteria to these events, pending final approval by the FIVB Board of Administration.

The council has proposed that the 2015 FIVB Volleyball World Cup be the first Olympic qualification event, taking place between August 22 and September 22.

The proposed participants for the World Cup -- which will feature 12 teams -- is the host country, the 2014 world champions and two countries per confederation either via a continental tournament or the two highest ranked countries from the continental or FIVB ranking as of January 1, 2015.

The four 2016 World Olympic qualification tournaments will each feature a host country plus three other countries coming from the top two teams not yet qualified per confederation.

It will be determined either by the 2015 continental championships or other continental Olympic qualification tournament plus two highest ranked teams that are not from the same continent.

The Council also confirmed that the FIVB Under 23 World Championships Open will have 12 participants per gender, to be filled by two countries from each continent to be determined by the confederations' own qualification criteria, the highest ranked country in the senior FIVB world rankings and the host country.

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