The withdrawal, which took place so the team could focus on competing at the inaugural European Games in Baku, could be interpreted as a blow to the FIVB's annual showpiece event.

But, with qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games having been toughened up for European nations, more qualification points will be available in Baku then through the World League, the key reason behind the German decision.

"The main focus is the qualification for the Olympic Games and for this the European ranking points are more important than the world ranking," German Volleyball Federation press officer Thilo von Hagen told insidethegames. 

"Furthermore it is very difficult to find a television partner which fulfill the requirements for World League, because our partner from the last years - SPORT1 - will broadcast almost five hours by day from Baku."

Von Hagen added that the German women's team will play at both Baku 2015 and the Grand Prix, before adding the FIVB "accepted the decision" and a fresh decision will be taken next year on whether they choose to participate on the World League.

United States will be seeking a repeat of their 2014 triumph at the 2015 FIVB World League ©Getty Images



In a statement, the FIVB told insidethegames that they "respect the decision of every National Federation to choose which events they participate in - at national, continental and international levels".

They added: "The FIVB would like to reiterate that, on a global level, the World League is the most prestigious international men's volleyball event - a tradition which started in 1990.

"Next year will mark the 26th edition of the competition and the FIVB looks forward to welcoming the top teams in the world to participate."

Germany have been replaced in the men's draw by Japan.

Germany's women pictured facing Azerbaijan in a recent match in Trieste ©Getty Images



The difficulty has arisen because  of changes to the qualification system which increase opportunities for non-European nations to qualify for Rio 2016, and thus make it unlikely there will be a repeat of the situation at London 2012, where seven of the 12 men's teams were European. 

With less positions available through world rankings points and global qualification competitions, the European Games has been one beneficiary, with a strong line-up having been unveiled today.