Federazione Italiana Pallavolo (FIPAV)

The FIPAV, The Italian Volleyball Federation, was officially established in 1946. At present, it has over three hundred thousand members, of which more than sixty percent are women, and about three million practitioners. Italian men's volleyball has risen strongly to the fore at the end of the seventies. On the occasion of the 1978 World Championships in Rome, when the Azzurri won the silver medal behind the Soviet Union. This was the first major success in the senior field. Later, again in the men's field, the bronze medal was won at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. With the technical management of Julio Velasco the Italian team won fourteen gold medals, two of which at the World Championships, three for European Championships, six World League and the medal of silver at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. In 1997, with the arrival of coach Bebeto, the Italian national team won the seventh World League and won the bronze medal at the European Championships. Since 1980 also the Italian Clubs have dominated the international scene, winning all the most important tournaments. This year Fipav turns 70, a long period in which Italian volleyball has achieved great international successes and that the federation and President Carlo Magri are keen to remember and celebrate.