A Comprehensive Report of the Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony of the 26th Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship took place tonight (Sunday, September 15) at the Shahdab Hall in Yazd. Seyed Milad Taghavi presented the championship trophy to Seyed Mohammad Mousavi, the captain of the Foolad Sirjan Iranian team.

According to the Volleyball Federation’s Communications Department, the 26th Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship, which began on Sunday, September 8, with the participation of eight teams including Shahdab Yazd (host), Foolad Sirjan Iranian (Iranian Premier League champion), Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi (Indonesia), Al Rayyan Sports Club (Qatar), Sporting Club (Kuwait), Pavlodar Volleyball Club (Kazakhstan), Kam Air (Afghanistan), and Gas Al Janoob (Iraq), concluded today (Sunday, September 15) with Foolad Sirjan emerging as the champion.

In the final match, Foolad Sirjan Iranian faced Shahdab Yazd, with the Yazd team ultimately accepting defeat and securing the runner-up position in this tournament.

Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi (Indonesia) claimed third place in the 26th Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship.

The closing ceremony was held tonight after the final match at the Shahdab Yazd Hall, attended by Seyed Milad Taghavi, President of the Volleyball Federation, Mohammadreza Davarzani, Executive Board Member of the National Olympic Committee of Iran and former President of the Volleyball Federation, Mehran Fatemi, Governor of Yazd, Mohammadreza Haddadzadeh, Yazd Prosecutor, Abbasali Behdani-Far, Commander of Yazd Police, Mostafa Etemadian, Director General of the Governor’s Office, and Seyed Mohammad Rastegari, Director General of Cultural Heritage of Yazd Province, among other distinguished guests.

The closing ceremony and the awarding of trophies to the top three teams began with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran and the playing of the Iranian national anthem.

The lighting, design, and use of visual identity elements for this tournament’s stage design were notable features of the closing ceremony, giving the Shahdab Hall a beautiful appearance that was praised by over six thousand spectators, as well as some players and technical staff of the participating teams.

The hall was packed, and those who couldn’t get tickets stood outside the closed doors, bidding farewell to the guests and ticket-holding spectators with tears in their eyes. This enthusiastic reception not only showcased the people of Yazd’s love for volleyball but also marked the first time they witnessed an Asian-level event of this magnitude in their hometown.

During the ceremony, the dream team of the 26th Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship 2024 was announced based on the selection of the tournament’s technical committee.

The best players of the 2024 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship are as follows:

• Best Middle Blocker: Masoud Gholami from Shahdab Yazd and Armin Gholichniazi from Foolad Sirjan
• Best Outside Hitter: Amirhossein Esfandiar from Foolad Sirjan Iranian and Mikael Yustino from Pavlodar Kazakhstan
• Best Opposite: Jean Patry from Jakarta Indonesia
• Best Setter: Ali Ramezani from Foolad Sirjan Iranian
• Best Libero: Mahdi Marandi from Foolad Sirjan Iranian
• Most Valuable Player: Ali Hajipour from Foolad Sirjan Iranian

Subsequently, the players, technical staff, and representatives of Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi (Indonesia) were invited to the podium to receive their bronze medals and third-place trophy. This process continued for Shahdab Yazd (runner-up) and Foolad Sirjan Iranian (champion of the 2024 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship).

Amirhossein Monazami, Secretary General of the Federation, Hamid Sharafat, President of the Yazd Volleyball Board, Zoheir Haji Hosseini, Director General of Sports and Youth of Yazd Province, Ehsan Abedi, Director General of Culture and Guidance of Yazd Province, the CEOs of Shahdab Yazd and Foolad Sirjan Iranian clubs, members of the control committee of this tournament, and some volleyball veterans were among the attendees invited to present the trophies.

The ceremony concluded with the replay of the Iranian national anthem, leaving a beautiful memory for the participating teams and volleyball enthusiasts in Iran.

One of the highlights of the closing ceremony was the large presence of the children of Premier League players in the hall, which maximized family participation in the moments of joy and success of the athletes.