Volleyball England duo elected to lead NEVZA

Ali has been elected as President of NEVZA, with Charlie elected as General Secretary, following today's (24th September) General Assembly in Milan.

Their appointments come at an important point for the Association following changes to the membership of the Northern European zone and the decisions of outgoing President Peter Holm and General Secretary Katrín Einarsdóttir to step down from their respective roles.

Volleyball England would like to place on record its sincere thanks to Peter and Katrín, together with colleagues from the Icelandic and Faroese federations who have supported NEVZA’s leadership, for their commitment and contribution to the Association.

Ali and Charlie were put forward by Volleyball England following discussions with fellow member federations.

They have been elected with a commitment to work collaboratively across the zone and ensure that NEVZA continues to provide meaningful value to its members, athletes, coaches and officials.

The appointments represent another significant step in Volleyball England’s growing international engagement and also reinforce its commitment to being a strong international partner and an active contributor to the growth and development of volleyball across Northern Europe and beyond.

Over recent years, Volleyball England has made a conscious decision to become a more active contributor to the European and international volleyball community, strengthening relationships across NEVZA, CEV and FIVB and significantly increasing the number of international events hosted in England.

That has included hosting 11 international events across sitting, indoor and beach volleyball, after a prolonged period in which England hosted very little international volleyball.

Most recently, Bridlington welcomed the NEVZA Beach England (Senior) Championships alongside a Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures event and NEVZA Youth Beach competition in June and July, bringing athletes from 27 countries to England.

The election of two Volleyball England representatives to NEVZA’s senior leadership builds on that progress and provides another opportunity for England to contribute positively to the development of the sport beyond its own borders.

Speaking following her election, Ali said: “It is a real honour to have been elected President of NEVZA and I am incredibly grateful to our fellow member federations for the trust they have placed in both Charlie and me.

“NEVZA has enormous potential as a network of federations that share many common opportunities and challenges. My starting point will be to listen. We want to understand what each of our member federations needs from NEVZA and then work collectively to shape the priorities for the next chapter.

“This isn’t about England coming in with a predetermined plan. It is about bringing people together, strengthening relationships and ensuring NEVZA remains relevant, collaborative and valuable to everyone within our zone.”

Following his election, Charlie added: “Over the last few years we have worked hard to re-establish England as an active, credible and constructive member of the international volleyball community.

“We have hosted more international volleyball, strengthened relationships with our fellow National Federations and become increasingly engaged across NEVZA, CEV and FIVB.

“Ali and I being elected into these roles is another important step in that journey, but this is about much more than England. NEVZA works best when its member federations work together, share expertise and use our collective strength to create opportunities that would be much harder for individual nations to deliver alone.

“We are both hugely grateful for the confidence shown in us by our colleagues across the zone and we are looking forward to working with them. I would also like to personally thank Peter, Katrín and the wider outgoing leadership for everything they have contributed.

“Our responsibility now is to build on that work and help NEVZA move positively into its next chapter.”

The immediate priority for the new leadership will be to engage with each NEVZA member federation to understand what is working well, what could work better and where members see the greatest opportunities for collaboration.

Those conversations will help shape a simple, member-led set of priorities, with potential areas including strengthening NEVZA competitions and development pathways, increasing opportunities to share technical expertise for coaches and officials and developing a stronger collective relationship with CEV and FIVB.