Paris (AFP)

Faced with the strong resumption of the Covid-19 epidemic in Europe, the main round of the Men's and Women's Volleyball Champions League will take place under "health bubbles", including one organized in Tours and one in Nantes, announced the Federation European (CEV), Friday.

Following intense discussions between clubs, federations and national leagues, the CEV felt that it was necessary to adapt its format for the main round (4th round).

"Two tournaments in + round robin + will be organized in + bio-secure bubbles + on two different sites for each group, during the winter and until mid-February", explained the CEV.

For this main round, twenty men's teams and twenty women's teams are divided into five groups of four.

For each group, two three-day windows are planned, with three team matches for each window (six matches in total).

This new format makes it possible to reduce the number of trips (one or two per team, against three previously) and to concentrate the main round over two weeks (against six in the previous formula).

Placed in group B, the volleyball players of Tours will thus welcome from December 8 to 10 the Italians of Perugia with the best player in the world, the Polish naturalized Cuban Wilfredo Leon, the Italians of Civitanova, title holder (2019) and the Turks of 'Izmir.

They will then move to Perugia from February 9 to 11.

Among the ladies, the Nantes women will host the Turks from Fenerbahçe, the Italians from Conegliano (2019 European vice-champions) and the Russians from Ekaterinburg from January 26 to 28.

They will first travel to Italy from December 8 to 10.

The Mulhousiennes, in Group C with the Poles from Lodz, the Turks from Istanbul and the Bulgarians from Plovdiv, will travel to Bulgaria from November 24 to 26, then to Poland from February 2 to 4.

The first and three best runners-up from each group will advance to the quarter-finals.

The finals are currently scheduled for May 1.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the CEV had interrupted the two Champions Leagues in mid-March and had not awarded a title of European champions 2020.

© 2020 AFP