After the initial plans for South Korea and then Vietnam to host the event fell through, the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) entrusted the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) with the responsibility of organizing the inaugural AVC Women’s Champions League.
So far, the organizing body, Sports Vision, has received praise from both AVC and Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) President Ramon “Tats” Suzara.
“At first, it was supposed to be Korea, the host of the Women’s Champions League, but there were some challenges. And then we went to Vietnam—some challenges again—and finally, we discussed with Ricky Palou and Don Caringal that there’s no choice for us but to host this event,” said Suzara on Tuesday during a press conference at the Philsports Arena.
“We would like to thank the PVL for accepting to host this inaugural event. This is an important event. I’d like to thank Ricky Palou. You know, the Champions League used to be the Asian Club Championship for Men and Women, but since I became president, we changed the brand to have a new image for AVC,” he added.
PVL President Ricky Palou expressed his honor at being given the opportunity to host the prestigious tournament, which is backed by federation partners Mikasa, Mizuno, and Grand Sport. He also sees it as a learning opportunity that could help improve the PVL’s own operations.
Palou and Sports Vision have been at the helm of organizing volleyball tournaments in the Philippines since launching the Shakey’s V-League in 2004, which has since evolved into the PVL. They also manage the men’s Spikers’ Turf and the collegiate V-League.
“I’d like to express our gratitude to AVC President Ramon Suzara and his Secretary General Hugh Graham for helping us to run the first AVC Women’s Volleyball Champions League,” said Palou.
“For us, it’s an honor really to be able to host this. And it’s also good for us, experience-wise. We’ve been conducting our professional league for so many years now, but we’re learning new things from how championship leagues internationally are done. We’re really thankful to AVC for giving us this opportunity.”
AVC Secretary-General and FIVB Executive Vice President Hugh Graham also commended the PVL for stepping up to the plate in organizing the event, which is supported by key local partners including PLDT, MWell, Eagle Cement, Rebisco, Akari, Gameville, PNVF, PSC, Cignal, and The Look Group. He expressed hope that PVL can continue to be part of future international hosting opportunities.
PNVF Secretary-General Don Caringal echoed this sentiment and expressed his gratitude to the organizers.
“As you know, AVC has challenges in identifying a host, and I know how difficult it is for countries to host an event with this kind of magnitude. Again, Ricky, to you and to PVL—thank you for this event to be here,” said Graham, who is also set to serve as Control Committee President for the upcoming 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship.
“In terms of this event, it’s being run in a manner that the president is proud of and we are proud of. And no doubt, the fruits of what you’ve done in this event—hopefully we can convince the PVL to consider future hosting. And if we can continue to provide this kind of atmosphere, this kind of event, this kind of standard, it’s very difficult for others to meet the standard,” Graham added.
“I’d like to echo what President Ramon said a while ago—that we really wanna thank Sir Ricky for taking this challenge. And so far, Sports Vision has been doing a great job in this championship,” said Caringal.
The 12-team tournament officially kicked off on Easter Sunday and will conclude with the championship match and the battle for third place on April 27.
