The official website of Haikyuu!!‘s 2-day special match event with Division 1 Men of Japan Volleyball League (V. League) announced on Aug 8, 2022, that the event is facing a roadblock as some players and staff members of VC Nagano Tridents were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Due to this situation, Ikeda Kota and Ryoma Yanuki (from VC Nagano Tridents), both of whom were set to play in the special match on the second day, will not be participating in the event.

While the event is scheduled to take place as planned before with no delays, the substitutes for these two players are being worked out. The replacing players will be announced on the official website and the official twitter account of Haikyuu!! x V. League.

“We sincerely apologize to those customers who were looking forward to seeing Mr. Yanuki and Mr. Ikeda participate in the event,” the official website wrote in their announcement.

Haikyuu!! x V. League was announced earlier as a part of the manga’s 10th anniversary project, and it will take place on Aug 13-14, 2022.

The 2-day event will start with a “Warm-up” event where V. League players and a panel of Haikyuu!! cast members will meet and talk about the series’ 10th anniversary on Aug 13, 2022.

On Aug 14, players will be selected from each team of V. League Division 1 Men to play an exhibition match. It will be held at the Ota Ward General Gymnasium in Tokyo.

The ten participating men’s teams are JT Thunders Hiroshima, Suntory Sunbirds, Wolf Dogs Nagoya, Osaka Blazers Sakai, JTEKT Stings, Panasonic Panthers, Toray Arrows, FC Tokyo, VC Nagano Tridents, and Oita Miyoshi Weisse Adler.

The event titled Haikyuu x V. League All-Star Special Match ‘The Volleyball’ is an upgraded version of “Haikyuu !! x V. League Special Match”, which was held in 2020.

In addition, official goods and merchandise will be sold exclusively for the event.

The special event will be open to live viewing as well as it will be distributed online on the official website.

The V. League 1 is the top-level semi-professional volleyball league for both men and women in Japan. The league started in 1994.

The competitions are organized by the Japan Volleyball League Organization. In 2006 the name V.League was changed to V.Premier League. In 2018 the name V.Premier League was changed to V.League Division 1 (V1).

Source: Official website of Haikyuu!! x V. League