This is a significant step forward for the Lega Pallavolo Serie A, which is part of a period of growth and international development. President Massimo Righi recently traveled to Tokyo to sign a collaboration agreement with the SV League, the Japanese volleyball league.
President Righi and Chairman Masaaki Okawa signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), representing the first concrete step toward structured cooperation between the two organizations, with the aim of fostering mutual development in sporting, organizational, and economic terms.
Specifically, the document outlines several areas of collaboration. These include the sharing of knowledge and best practices, which will address issues such as league management, fan engagement, youth development, and the organization of events and competitions, as well as the potential exchange of players between Italy and Japan.
Massimo Righi (President of the Italian Volleyball League Serie A): “First of all, I would like to thank Ambassador Mario Vattani for the wonderful hospitality he gave us in this beautiful place, the Italian Embassy in Tokyo.
In the year marking the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and Japan, we are here today to celebrate a historic moment in the international volleyball movement: the signing of an MOU between the Italian and Japanese Leagues. This MOU was born with the aim of engaging with all the institutions in the international volleyball ecosystem to develop and enhance the value of our product. The goal is to actively contribute to the development of our two Leagues, in a context where vision, transparency, and courage will be the key words.
From the first day I met Masaaki-san, there was an immediate connection, which naturally led us to a journey of collaboration and sharing our experiences. Over the past thirty years, opinion leaders in international volleyball have identified the Italian Volleyball League Serie A as the leader of the movement. Internationally. I don’t know if that’s true, but we’ve always handled it with great professionalism and enthusiasm, aware, however, that remaining alone at the international level would not lead to the global development volleyball needs.
Therefore, we decided to begin a process of sharing our expertise with other Leagues, and in particular, we found great support and attention from the Japanese League.
Masaaki Okawa (Chairman SV.LEAGUE): “First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the opportunity to hold this press conference today at the Italian Embassy, a wonderful venue where Italian and Japanese cultures meet. We visited Italy last December and again in February, and today we are honored to welcome Mr. Massimo Righi, President of the Lega Pallavolo Serie A, who traveled from Italy to Japan to make this ceremony possible. The SV.LEAGUE was founded with the ambition of becoming one of the world’s leading leagues by 2030. In pursuing this goal, the Lega Pallavolo Serie A has always been a point of reference for us. Through this partnership, we aim not only to promote exchanges between top teams, but also to strengthen collaboration in coach training and youth development, so we can grow together in the future. Finally, we share a common vision with the Lega Pallavolo Serie A: to further enhance the sport of volleyball. Volleyball is considered one of the most widely supported sports in the world. of practitioners in the world, and we believe there is still great potential to further develop it, including commercially, and to expand its global fan base.”
Mario Vattani (Italian Ambassador to Japan): “It is a special occasion because this year Italy and Japan are celebrating the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations. This is a sports diplomacy initiative, and it concerns a sport that enjoys great global visibility and in which our two countries excel at the global level: volleyball. Last year, the Perugia and Osaka teams faced each other in two sold-out friendly matches at the Ariake Arena. Italian volleyball players play in Japan, and our country’s coaches lead important Japanese teams. But for Italy and Japan, volleyball is also a driving force for our respective economies, generating brand value for sportswear and training equipment. Some Japanese companies sponsor teams in our league, and some Japanese players are also ambassadors for important brands of our companies.”
