The Netherlands will host beach volleyball's world championships in 2015, the Dutch Volleyball Association (NEVOBO) announced in The Hague on Thursday.

The board of FIVB, volleyball's world governing body, awarded the event to the Netherlands during a board meeting on Monday, said Michel Everaert, sport director of the NEVOBO.

"Our ambition is to create the biggest beach volleyball event ever on the beach of Scheveningen," Everaert told Xinhua, noting that the FIVB was especially impressed by the focus on the development of the sport in the Dutch bid.

"We aim to set out at least 500 beach volleyball courts along the coast. We believe that such an event should not be a stand-alone event.

"It should really contribute to the development of beach volleyball. In the forthcoming three years we will start a campaign to get more people playing beach volleyball. Eight years ago we had 4 Dutch clubs, now we have 135 and we hope to have between 400 and 500 clubs in 2018. We think the World Championships can contribute to that development. Our other focus is sustainability, it will be the most sustainable tournament ever."

The 2015 championships are scheduled for June/July and will, for the first time in the tournament's history, be held in four cities, The Hague, Amsterdam, Apeldoorn and one city to be confirmed, said Everaert.

The Hague, with its beach area Scheveningen, will be the main location of the tournament.

"It's a wonderful event that completely matches what we want to be: A sports city by the sea," Karsten Klein, The Hague's alderman for Youth, Welfare and Sport, told Xinhua.

"The Hague is the beach volleyball city in The Netherlands. We will also host the European Championships this year. The city has invested 850,000 Euros in the project, with the total tournament budget being 4 to 5 million Euros," Klein added.

The beach volleyball world championships are already listed as a top event by the Dutch Olympic committee with an eye on the possible candidature for the 2028 Olympic Games.

"This means these events will get more support, which makes it financially easier to get main events to the Netherlands," Everaert said.

The world championships was last held in Rome in 2011 and Poland's Stare Jablonki will host the next edition in August 2013.

Richard Schuil, three times European champion and multi gold medalist on the World Tour, was also excited about the event.

"We already are a good beach volleyball nation, but this tournament will give an extra boost," said the 38-year-old.

"More young players will start to play beach volleyball and it will be a great step towards the 2016 Olympic Games for many players. Unfortunately, it will be too late for me, but I will definitely be there to watch my successors."