2025 AVC Men's Volleyball Champions League
Volleyball competition held in Japan
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The 2025 AVC Men's Volleyball Champions League was the first edition of the newly rebranded AVC Men's Volleyball Champions League and the 25th overall edition of the formerly named Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship, an annual international men's volleyball club tournament organized by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) with the Japan Volleyball Association (JVA) and the SV.League (SVL). It was held at the Panasonic Arena in Hirakata and Shimadzu Arena Kyoto in Kyoto from 11 to 18 May 2025.[1]
Official logo | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Japan |
| Cities | |
| Dates | 11–18 May 2025 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Venue | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Al-Rayyan Sports Club (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Osaka Bluteon |
| Third place | Suntory Sunbirds Osaka |
| Fourth place |  Foolad Sirjan Iranian |
| Tournament awards | |
| MVP |  Nimir Abdel-Aziz |
| Best Setter | Miloš Stevanović |
| Best OH | |
| Best MB |
|
| Best OPP | Nimir Abdel-Aziz |
| Best Libero | Tomohiro Yamamoto |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 20 |
| Attendance | 26,118 (1,306 per match) |
← 2024 2026 → | |
Al-Rayyan Sports Club won the tournament for the first time by beating Osaka Bluteon in the final and Nimir Abdel-Aziz named the MVP.[2][3] Both teams qualified for the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball Club World Championship.[4] Suntory Sunbirds Osaka claimed the bronze against Foolad Sirjan in the 3rd place match.[5]
Host selection
Participating teams
Teams by zonal association
Entrant teams
The first AVC Men's Champions League is an invitational tournament with a maximum of twelve teams allowed to enter.[6] As hosts, Japan was allowed to enter two teams.[1] The following teams are expected to take part in tournament.
| Association | Team | Domestic league standing |
|---|---|---|
 Australia |
Queensland Pirates | 2024–25 Australian Men's Volleyball League champions |
 Bahrain |
Muharraq Club | 2024–25 Bahraini Men's Volleyball League champions |
 China |
Shanghai Bright | 2024–25 Chinese Volleyball Super League champions |
 Chinese Taipei |
Taichung Bank | N/A |
| Iran |
Foolad Sirjan Iranian | 2024–25 Iranian Volleyball Super League champions[7] |
| Japan |
Suntory Sunbirds Osaka | 2023–24 V.League Division 1 champions |
| Osaka Bluteon | 2023–24 V.League Division 1 runners-up | |
 Kazakhstan |
Aqtobe VC | 2024–25 Kazakhstan Men's National League runners-up |
 Philippines |
Cignal HD Spikers | N/A (national team)[a] |
| Qatar |
Al-Rayyan Sports Club | 2024–25 Qatari Volleyball League champions |
 Thailand |
Nakhon Ratchasima Qmin C VC | 2023–24 Men's Volleyball Thailand League champions |
 Vietnam |
Sport Training Center 3 | N/A (national team)[b] |
Squads
Pools composition
The teams were split into four pools with three teams each.[12] The draw of lots took place at The Grand Fourwings Hotel Bangkokon on 12 March 2025.[13][14]
Teams were seeded in the first position of each pool following the serpentine system according to their FIVB Senior World Rankings as of 8 January 2025. All teams not seeded were drawn to take other available positions in the remaining lines, following the World Ranking. The host's two teams and the top two countries are automatically seeded as the first teams of the four pools.
| Seeded teams | Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Suntory Sunbirds Osaka (6) (H-A) Osaka Bluteon (6) (H-B) Iranian Team[c] (15) Al-Rayyan Sports Club (21) |
Shanghai Bright (24) Queensland Pirates (33) Taichung Bank (45) Sport Training Center 3 (52) |
Aqtobe VC (53) Cignal HD Spikers (56) Nakhon Ratchasima QminC (57) Bahraini Team[d] (58) |
- Drawing results
| Pool A | Pool B | Pool C | Pool D |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suntory Sunbirds Osaka (6) (H-A) |
Osaka Bluteon (6) (H-B) |
Iranian Team[c] (15) |
Al-Rayyan Sports Club (21) |
| Queensland Pirates (33) |
Shanghai Bright (24) |
Taichung Bank (45) |
Sport Training Center 3 (52) |
| Aqtobe VC (53) |
Cignal HD Spikers (56) |
Nakhon Ratchasima Qmin C VC (57) |
Bahraini Team[d] (58) |
Venues
Pool standing procedure
- Total number of victories (matches won, matches lost)
- In the event of a tie, the following first tiebreaker will apply: The teams will be ranked by the most point gained per match as follows:
- Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 points for the winner, 0 points for the loser
- Match won 3–2: 2 points for the winner, 1 point for the loser
- Match forfeited: 3 points for the winner, 0 points (0–25, 0–25, 0–25) for the loser
- If teams are still tied after examining the number of victories and points gained, then the AVC will examine the results in order to break the tie in the following order:
- Set quotient: if two or more teams are tied on the number of points gained, they will be ranked by the quotient resulting from the division of the number of all set won by the number of all sets lost.
- Points quotient: if the tie persists based on the set quotient, the teams will be ranked by the quotient resulting from the division of all points scored by the total of points lost during all sets.
- If the tie persists based on the point quotient, the tie will be broken based on the team that won the match of the Round Robin Phase between the tied teams. When the tie in point quotient is between three or more teams, these teams ranked taking into consideration only the matches involving the teams in question.
Preliminary round
- All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00).
Pool A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Pts | SW | SL | SR | SPW | SPL | SPR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suntory Sunbirds Osaka (H) |
2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | MAX | 150 | 95 | 1.579 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Aqtobe VC |
2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1.000 | 124 | 120 | 1.033 | |
| 3 | Queensland Pirates |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 | 91 | 150 | 0.607 |
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 May | 19:05 | Suntory Sunbirds Osaka | 3–0 | Queensland Pirates | 25–12 | 25–16 | 25–18 | 75–46 | P2 Report | ||
| 12 May | 15:05 | Aqtobe VC | 3–0 | Queensland Pirates | 25–11 | 25–15 | 25–19 | 75–45 | P2 Report | ||
| 13 May | 19:05 | Suntory Sunbirds Osaka | 3–0 | Aqtobe VC | 25–14 | 25–16 | 25–19 | 75–49 | P2 Report |
Pool B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Pts | SW | SL | SR | SPW | SPL | SPR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Osaka Bluteon (H) |
2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | MAX | 150 | 107 | 1.402 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Shanghai Bright |
2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1.000 | 129 | 126 | 1.024 | |
| 3 | Cignal HD Spikers |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 | 104 | 150 | 0.693 |
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 May | 15:35 | Osaka Bluteon | 3–0 | Cignal HD Spikers | 25–11 | 25–21 | 25–21 | 75–53 | P2 Report | ||
| 12 May | 19:05 | Osaka Bluteon | 3–0 | Shanghai Bright | 25–20 | 25–14 | 25–20 | 75–54 | P2 Report | ||
| 13 May | 15:05 | Cignal HD Spikers | 0–3 | Shanghai Bright | 12–25 | 21–25 | 18–25 | 51–75 | Report |
Pool C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Pts | SW | SL | SR | SPW | SPL | SPR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foolad Sirjan Iranian |
2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3.000 | 181 | 139 | 1.302 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Nakhon Ratchasima Qmin C VC |
2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1.250 | 196 | 192 | 1.021 | |
| 3 | Taichung Bank |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0.167 | 130 | 176 | 0.739 |
Source: FIVB Live Center
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 May | 10:05 | Foolad Sirjan Iranian | 3–2 | Nakhon Ratchasima Qmin C VC | 25–17 | 22–25 | 25–17 | 19–25 | 15–11 | 106–95 | P2 Report |
| 12 May | 10:05 | Taichung Bank | 1–3 | Nakhon Ratchasima Qmin C VC | 18–25 | 20–25 | 28–26 | 20–25 | 86–101 | P2 Report | |
| 13 May | 10:05 | Foolad Sirjan Iranian | 3–0 | Taichung Bank | 25–17 | 25–14 | 25–13 | 75–44 | P2 Report |
Pool D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Pts | SW | SL | SR | SPW | SPL | SPR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Rayyan Sports Club |
2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | MAX | 150 | 104 | 1.442 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Muharraq Club |
2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0.750 | 152 | 166 | 0.916 | |
| 3 | Sport Training Center 3 |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0.167 | 138 | 170 | 0.812 |
Source: FIVB Live Center
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 May | 12:35 | Al-Rayyan Sports Club | 3–0 | Muharraq Club | 25–22 | 25–17 | 25–18 | 75–57 | P2 Report | ||
| 12 May | 12:35 | Sport Training Center 3 | 1–3 | Muharraq Club | 21–25 | 25–20 | 23–25 | 22–25 | 91–95 | P2 Report | |
| 13 May | 12:35 | Al-Rayyan Sports Club | 3–0 | Sport Training Center 3 | 25–11 | 25–15 | 25–21 | 75–47 | P2 Report |
Final round
- All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00).
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| 15 May | ||||||||||
| Suntory Sunbirds Osaka | 3 | |||||||||
| 17 May | ||||||||||
| Muharraq Club | 0 | |||||||||
| Suntory Sunbirds Osaka | 2 | |||||||||
| 15 May | ||||||||||
| Al-Rayyan Sports Club | 3 | |||||||||
| Aqtobe VC | 1 | |||||||||
| 18 May | ||||||||||
| Al-Rayyan Sports Club | 3 | |||||||||
| Al-Rayyan Sports Club | 3 | |||||||||
| 16 May | ||||||||||
| Osaka Bluteon | 0 | |||||||||
| Osaka Bluteon | 3 | |||||||||
| 17 May | ||||||||||
| Nakhon Ratchasima Qmin C VC | 1 | |||||||||
| Osaka Bluteon | 3 | |||||||||
| 16 May | ||||||||||
| Foolad Sirjan Iranian | 1 | 3rd place match | ||||||||
| Shanghai Bright | 1 | |||||||||
| 18 May | ||||||||||
| Foolad Sirjan Iranian | 3 | |||||||||
| Suntory Sunbirds Osaka | 3 | |||||||||
| Foolad Sirjan Iranian | 0 | |||||||||
Quarterfinals
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 May | 15:05 | Aqtobe VC | 1–3 | Al-Rayyan Sports Club | 20–25 | 18–25 | 25–23 | 20–25 | 83–98 | P2 Report | |
| 15 May | 19:05 | Suntory Sunbirds Osaka | 3–0 | Muharraq Club | 27–25 | 25–20 | 25–9 | 77–54 | P2 Report | ||
| 16 May | 15:05 | Shanghai Bright | 1–3 | Foolad Sirjan Iranian | 26–24 | 21–25 | 26–28 | 23–25 | 96–102 | P2 Report | |
| 16 May | 19:05 | Osaka Bluteon | 3–1 | Nakhon Ratchasima Qmin C VC | 25–18 | 21–25 | 25–17 | 25–15 | 96–75 | P2 Report |
Semifinals
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 May | 12:05 | Suntory Sunbirds Osaka | 2–3 | Al-Rayyan Sports Club | 25–22 | 22–25 | 25–23 | 23–25 | 15–17 | 110–112 | P2 Report |
| 17 May | 16:05 | Osaka Bluteon | 3–1 | Foolad Sirjan Iranian | 25–19 | 19–25 | 25–18 | 25–19 | 94–81 | P2 Report |
3rd place match
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 May | 12:05 | Suntory Sunbirds Osaka | 3–0 | Foolad Sirjan Iranian | 25–15 | 25–15 | 25–19 | 75–49 | P2 Report |
Final
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 May | 16:05 | Al-Rayyan Sports Club | 3–0 | Osaka Bluteon | 25–19 | 25–22 | 25–17 | 75–58 | P2 Report |
Final standing
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Awards
|
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See also
Notes
- Philippine national team competing under the name 'Cignal HD Spikers', which shares the same name as the Cignal HD Spikers, the 2024 Spiker's Turf Invitational Conference champions.
This is a result of an approved request by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation to the AVC and is part of the national team's preparation for the 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship which the Philippines will be hosting.[8] - Vietnam national team replaced Biên Phòng, the 2024 Volleyball Vietnam League champions.[9]
- The identity of the team from Iran was yet to be determined at the time of the draw. This slot was later filled in by Foolad Sirjan.
- The identity of the team from Bahrain was yet to be determined at the time of the draw. This slot was later filled in by Al Muharraq.
