MANILA – The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Executive Board for the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship (MWCH) held its first comprehensive meeting on Friday, January 10, at the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) office at The Bonifacio Prime in Taguig City. The prestigious tournament, scheduled from September 12 to 18, 2025, has received full support from both the government and the private sector.

“We are grateful for all the hard work that has been done to ensure that the Philippines is ready to host this exciting sports tourism event,” said Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, co-chair of the LOC Executive Board, alongside Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and William Vincent Araneta Marcos, the son of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

“This is for the country, and we are confident that the Philippines will host a very memorable and successful event that will bring volleyball fans and players from around the world,” Frasco added.

Present at the meeting were sports patron Manuel V. Pangilinan, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Asian Volleyball Confederation and PNVF president Ramon “Tats” Suzara, PNVF officials Tonyboy Liao, Dr. Arnel Hajan, Karl Chan, Charo Soriano, and Secretary-General Donaldo Caringal, as well as Philippine Sports Commission chairperson Richard Bachmann.

“This is similar to the preparations we made for the FIBA World Cup [2023], but this time, there will be 32 countries participating, double the number of countries in that tournament,” said Pangilinan, chairman emeritus of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.

“It’s bigger in terms of the number of participating countries and tourist arrivals, and we are pleased to partner with the government on this effort,” he added.

With 244 days left before the competition, Suzara assured that preparations are in full swing.

“We are moving forward with the preparations. It’s a lot of work, so we need all the support and help from stakeholders and sponsors,” said Suzara, who is also an executive vice president of FIVB.

“We’ll make this happen, aligned with FIVB’s new slogan, ‘Together As One.’ We are pushing forward,” he added.

Bachmann is confident that the Philippines’ sole hosting of the tournament will be successful.

“It’s the same people involved in the FIBA World Cup hosting – from the private sector, the government, legislators, and national sports associations – so we are confident that this hosting will also be a great success,” Bachmann said.

Tolentino also pledged the POC’s full support for the FIVB MWCH.

“Just like the FIBA World Cup, the POC is fully supporting this hosting. Just as we did with basketball, now it’s volleyball,” Tolentino said. “We are also preparing for the SEA Games hosting here in Manila, so this is an all-out effort.”

Senator Pia Cayetano is also a member of the LOC Executive Board.

elamigo/mnm