ASIA’S Best Opposite spiker, Amin Esmaeilnezhad, will lead a young Iranian team that the Philippines’ Alas Pilipinas takes on next after Tunisia in Pool A action of the 2025 FIVB Men’s World Volleyball Championship at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Alas Pilipinas-Tunisia match kicks off the world championship at 6 p.m. at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on September 12—which will be followed by an electrifying opening ceremony featuring the K-pop group Boynextdoor—while the Iranians will be up last in Pool A for the Filipinos at 5:30 p.m. at the end of pool play on September 18.
Tunisia will be without its star player Wassim Ben Tara, but still boasts a formidable squad.
Tara, the team’s leading scorer in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is not in the official roster announced by Tunisia this month due to prior commitments but other veteran aces in Hamza Nagga and Elyes Karamosli are on board for the world meet set Sept. 12 to 28.
Nagga, a 6-foot-2 opposite spiker, and 6-foot-4 outside hitter Karamosli backstopped Tara in their 2021 African Men’s Volleyball Championship to extend their record as the most successful African nation with 11 titles.
Meanwhile, volleyball icon Leila Barros returns to Manila after 25 years as the guest of honor at the final on Sept. 28 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Barros, who captured the hearts of Filipino fans during the 2000 FIVB Grand Prix, expressed her excitement to reconnect with them. She confirmed her attendance via an Instagram post shortly after the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) announced her return on Friday night.
“What a joy it will be to reconnect with these passionate volleyball fans,” Barros said. “See you soon!”
“It is with a heart full of gratitude that I receive this very special invitation. Returning to the Philippines, where I have always been welcomed with such warmth, is incredibly exciting,” said Barros, now 53 and serving as a senator in Brazil.
“Being present at the finals of the 2025 FIVB Volleyball World Championship will be a great honor.”
Esmaeilnezhad, 28, is one of the most seasoned players on Team Melli, which boasts an average age of 23.8 years and an average height of 6-foot-5.
Iran is the second-highest world-ranked Asian team at No. 13 in the elite 32-team field behind Japan (No. 5).
With former Asian Volleyball Confederation Best Setter Javad Karimi handling the plays and Italian coach Roberto Piazza calling the shots, Team Melli looks to build on the momentum of rising three rungs up the rankings since last July.
Iran, just like Alas Pilipinas, which went on a training camp in Morocco, Romania and Portugal, also honed overseas for the world championships, which will also be played at the Smart Araneta Coliseum—tickets to the games are available through the official website https://www.philippineswch2025.com/.
The three-time defending Asian Games champions will train for a week in Doha, before flying to Manila as one of the early birds in the first week of September.
After facing Egypt and Qatar twice in Doha, Team Melli—also featuring opposite spiker Ali Hajipour and outside hitters Morteza Sharifi, Amirhossein Esfandiar and Ali Haghparast—will play friendlies in Manila against Slovenia on Sept. 9 and Germany on Sept. 10.
Setters Ali Ramazani and Arshia Behnezhad, outside hitters Poriya Hossein Khanzadeh, Ehsan Daneshdoust and middle blockers Mohammad Valizadeh, Eisa Naseri, Yousef Kazemi, Nima Bateni, liberos Arman Salehi, Mohammadreza Hazratpour, also suit up for Iran in the tournament supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Pagcor, the Office of the President, and the Philippine Olympic Committee. It is backed by Rebisco, SM, PLDT, Smart, Metro Pacific Investments, Honda Philippines, Meralco, Sony, Lenovo, and LRT Line 2. The event is officially sanctioned by the FIVB and partnered with Volleyball World, Mikasa (official ball), Mizuno, Gerflor, and Senoh Corporation.
Piazza and Team Melli will be competing in their second major tournament after a ninth-place finish in the last Volleyball Nations League last month, a significant leap from the 15th-place finish in 2024.
