Volleyball in Spain
Volleyball is one of the most popular team sports in Spain . There are regular league and cup competitions in different categories for both men and women, in which teams from all parts of the country play. Spanish teams take part in the major international competitions for both club and national teams. In the summer months there are also various beach volleyball competitions, not only on the beaches, but also in many places inland.
history
Volleyball first became popular on the beaches of Catalonia in the 1920s . Even after the Spanish Civil War , volleyball remained a minority sport that was practiced in schools and by youth organizations. Nevertheless, the increasing importance, especially at the international level, led to the introduction of organized structures in Spain, but initially within the Spanish handball federation (1948–1950).
The very cautious sponsorship by the handball association led to volleyball being reorganized as a section of the national basketball association in 1950 and regional associations in all parts of the country to be established. In 1951 the first Spanish national championship was played. In 1953 the volleyball section became a member of the International Volleyball Federation .
After this first period of greater activity, the basketball association made an effort to end the previous arrangement with volleyball. In the 1958–1959 | 59 season there was an attempt to incorporate volleyball into the national rugby association , but the independent Federación Española de Balonvolea / Voleibol (RFEVB) was finally constituted on January 26, 1960.
In the 1990s, volleyball finally became one of the most popular sports in Spain. The Spanish national teams competed in international championships with good results, and numerous world-class players played in clubs in the Spanish league. In July 2003 the final phase of the world league took place in Madrid . For women, Tenerife Marichal dominated the national club scene for years and won the European Champions League in its own stadium in 2004.
The greatest success so far at national team level came at the 2007 European men's volleyball championship in Russia, where the favored host was defeated in the final and surprisingly won gold.
At the same time, the rise of Spanish beach volleyball took place, which was confirmed by the Olympic silver medal for Pablo Herrera and Javier Bosma at the 2004 Athens Games .