Australia will participate in their fifth FIVB World League. They first joined the competition in 1999 for a single season but it took them 15 years to return. They finished ninth in 2014, qualified for the Group 1 Finals and got promoted to Group 1 for 2015, when they took on Brazil, Serbia and Italy but failed to progress to the Finals in Rio de Janeiro. The Volleyroos ranked bottom of the table in 2016 and were relegated again to Group 2. Australia also represented Asia at the 2014 FIVB World Championship, finishing 15th after reaching the second round in Poland. It was Australia’s best placing in six World Championships appearances.
The Australian Volleyball Federation was founded in 1963 and the sport has rapidly increased in popularity in the country since. At the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games the team came eighth, beating Spain in the process and taking a set from then world champions, Italy. There has been steady improvement including an appearance at London 2012, but Australia missed out on qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games after finishing fifth at the Men’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Japan.
Australia will host the finals of the 2017 FIVB World League Group 2 in the Gold Coast.