Qatar will compete in the FIVB World League for the second consecutive year. They made the cut after coming 36th in the September world rankings.
Qatar had recently made their debut in the World League group stage and beat strong teams like Puerto Rico, Greece and Tunisia.
In six matches played at two venues in Slovenia and Greece, Qatar won three and lost as many, and failed to progress to the knockout round.
In the 2017 edition, they are drawn alongside Greece, Mexico and Spain in Round 1, to be held from June 2 to 4. In Round 2, from June 9 to 11, Qatar are clubbed with Greece, Venezuela and Estonia. The venues will be confirmed later.
The draw was made by FIVB President Ary S Graca at the global governing body’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, last week.
Serbia are the defending champions of the $1m prize-money tournament. They beat Brazil in last year’s final in Krakow, Poland.
FIVB confirmed that next year’s World League would have the same format as in 2016, when a record 36 teams competed. They are equally split into three groups and each side plays two rounds.
* Doha Stadium Plus