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Reason why player wears a different colour in volleyball at Olympic Games explained

Home> Other

Published 13:06 5 Aug 2024 GMT+1

Reason why player wears a different colour in volleyball at Olympic Games explained

Eagle-eyed viewers have spotted the disparity in team colours.

Matthew Holt

Matthew Holt

The beauty of the Olympic games is the ability to watch random sports that aren't usually broadcast on TV.

We aren't dismissing volleyball as a sport, but Olympic fans have seemingly flocked to watch the team event in Paris this summer.

One of the lesser known quirks is that not all of the volleyball competitors wear the same colours, as is popular in most traditional sports.

Two teams of six usually go head-to-head with one member donning a different colour, but why is that you may ask?

The player who wears an alternative top is called a libero.

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Libero’s are defensive players but their role in the game comes with a number of different playing restrictions.

They are, therefore, only allowed to be positioned in the back row and are not permitted to block a shot at the net or jump and spike a ball at the front.

The referee's job is also made easier to spot which player from each team has been selected as the libero.

Libero in action during Olympic volleyball
Libero in action during Olympic volleyball

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Only six members of the squad can be on court at any one time, however, with only one libero allocated at a time.

The role was first introduced into the sport by the International Volleyball Federation in 1996. A normal game consists of four sets, with the first team to reach 25 points declared the winner.

Should the two teams be tied on two sets apiece, then a deciding fifth set, with the first to reach 15 points deciding the overall victor.

France are the reigning men's olympic champions, with USA holding the crown in the women's field.

Team GB's only Olympic appearance in the sport came at London 2012, where the women's squad finished ninth and the men 11th.

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Most competitive players from the UK have to travel to a different country in order to play professional too due to lack of funding.

UK Sport tend to allocate further funding for elite sports with the policy of 'more medals, more money'.

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: Olympics

Matthew Holt
Matthew Holt

Matthew is a Freelance Sports Journalist who also works for Manchester United, FourFourTwo and Reach PLC. He supports Scunthorpe United.

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@_mattyholt

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