FIVB: Brazil GS Cancelled due to Money Scandal?
Fortaleza, Brazil. The Grand Slam scheduled here has been suspended. Photo: Ricαrd
It looks like the CBV money scandal is starting to affect international events. The FIVB have removed the Fortaleza, Brazil event from the 2014 Beach Volleyball World Tour Calendar. We exchanged emails with a member of the CBV's Beach Competitions Unit and were told that the event suspension was a joint decision between the FIVB and CBV. When asked for clarification, the CBV representative did not clarify and said that it was an internal matter. We have the FIVB's response below.
The screenshots below show two different stages of the FIVB Beach World Tour Calendar. The first is the page as it stands today, with the Brazil event removed. The second is the Google Cache from four days ago, with the event still scheduled. The timing of this suspension coincides with the stories leaking about the CBV money scandal and title sponsor Banco do Brasil's public statement regarding the scandal.
Do you think this has something to do with the scandal or Banco do Brasil's recent statements? On the indoor side of the game, FIVB World League matches are scheduled to take place in Brazil starting on May 23rd. Are they too, in jeopardy? The CBV told us there is a probability that the Grand Slam will be added back into the second half of the 2014 calendar.
Let us know what you think on Twitter!
Update
Just as we published this article, The FIVB realeased a press release with the following statement:
The Fortaleza Grand Slam, originally scheduled to take place from May 13 to 18, will be held later on in the year following a request from the Brazilian Volleyball Federation (CBV). The tournament in Fortaleza was scheduled to take place a few weeks after the opening Grand Slam event of the season in Shanghai (April 29 to May 4), which will now be followed by the Moscow Grand Slam from June 11 to 15.
We just got word from the FIVB regarding the specifics of the event suspension:
The event has been postponed after the promoter (CBV) had informed the FIVB in February that they were trying to find another venue in another city as Fortaleza was potentially unavailable.
In the beginning, CBV were hopeful of finding a solution to ensure the World Tour would return to Fortaleza for the first time since 2007 or at least another venue however this proved unsuccessful, hence the postponement.
The announcement was made now in order to inform athletes as soon as possible so they can avoid making the necessary travel plans.
That seems like a vague, but reasonable answer. Why would the CBV want to keep that internal? With the timing of all the new coming out of Brazil, something just doesn't feel right.