2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship

Upcoming European women's volleyball tournament From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship, commonly referred to as EuroVolley Women 2026 (also known as the CEV Trendyol EuroVolley 2026 for sponsorship reasons), will be the 34th edition of the biennial continental tournament for women's national volleyball teams, organised by Europe's governing volleyball body, CEV. The tournament will be held between from 21 August to 6 September 2026. It will be organised in Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Sweden and Turkey, marking the fourth consecutive time EuroVolley will be held in four countries, after the multi-country hosting system was first used in 2019. Turkey will host the final in Istanbul.

Dates21 August – 6 September
Teams24
Venues4 (in 4 host cities)
Quick facts Tournament details, Host countries ...
2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship
  • 2026 Voleybol üzrə qadınlararası Avropa Çempionatı (Azerbaijani)
  • Vytváření Mistrovství Evropy ve volejbale žen 2026 (Czech)
  • Europamästerskapet i volleyboll för damer 2026 (Swedish)
  • 2026 Avrupa Kadınlar Voleybol Şampiyonası (Turkish)
Tournament details
Host countries Azerbaijan
 Czech Republic
 Sweden
 Turkey
Dates21 August – 6 September
Teams24
Venues4 (in 4 host cities)
2023
2028
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24 teams will participate for the fourth time as well. Qualification took place in August 2024 and 2025 to decide the final 12 spots. The four co-hosts qualified automatically. Montenegro will make their debut, while Austria and Latvia return after long absences.

After FIVB's calendar changes starting 2025, this will be the first European Championship since 1958 to be held in an even-numbered year.

The winner qualifies for the Volleyball tournament at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The top three finishers will also qualify for the 2027 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Cup in Canada and United States.

Turkey are the defending champions, having beaten Serbia 3–2 in the final in Brussels.

Year change

On 22 June 2023, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) announced that, starting in 2026, all continental competitions would be played in even-numbered years, rather than odd-numbered.[1] This will be the first European Championship since 1958 to be held in an even-numbered year.

Host selection

  •  Czech Republic[2][3] – Czech Republic was announced as the first co-host on 6 December 2023, with games at a new arena in Brno.[4][5] This will be Czech Republic's third time hosting after 1993 and 1997.
  •  Sweden – On 6 March 2024, Sweden became the second host with games to take place at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg.[6][7][8] This will be Sweden's first time hosting.
  •  Azerbaijan – On 12 March 2024, Azerbaijan became the third host with one group to be held in the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku.[9][10] This will be Azerbaijan's second time organising after 2017.
  •  Turkey[11] – While widely reported to be a host,[12][13] Turkey was officially announced as the final host on 8 November 2024.[14] According to the Turkish federation, Turkish president, Tayyip Erdoğan, helped get the competition.[15] This will be Turkey's fourth time organising after 1967, 2003 and 2019.

Rejected countries

The following countries had expressed interest but didn't make the cut:[16]

  •  Austria – Austria was provisionally given the hosting rights, but after an unknown city unexpectedly withdrew and the Austrian federation reluctant to ask their government for more money due to the government giving money for beach volleyball events, the Austrians asked for a two-week extension on making a decision. At this time as well, the Azerbaijani government had offered to host the group. With the choice to give Austria a two-week extension or giving the event to Azerbaijan, they chose the latter.[17] Austria's only known possible venue was in Vienna.
  •  Finland – Finland was briefly mentioned as a possible host in November 2022, but this never materialised.

Preparations

Tickets

Tickets were released on 7 November 2025.[18]

Official ticket websites

Qualification

Map of qualifiers for the 2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship:
  Team qualified for 2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship
  Team failed to qualify
  Team banned from competition
  Did not enter

24 teams qualify for the championship. The four co-hosts and the eight best teams from the 2023 edition automatically progress (in the event that one of the best eight teams is also a co-host, the next best team will inherit their place).

21 teams took part in qualification, with 12 spots on the line. The 21 teams were divided into seven groups of three, with the seven group winners plus the five best second place teams qualifying. The games were played in August 2024 and 2025. The groups were divided by the Serpentine system based on each teams' ranking.

Of the 24 teams who qualified, 20 of them were present at the previous tournament. Montenegro are the only debutants, after winning Group D.[19] Austria will return after 55 years, breaking the record for the longest-ever gap for any team between appearances;[20][21] alongside the record, Austria qualified on merit for the first time. Latvia comes back for the first time since 1997.[22][23] Portugal advanced for the first time after their debut in 2019.

Of the non-qualifiers, Finland and Switzerland both missed out in Group A, with the two taking part in the three previous editions. Bosnia and Herzegovina didn't qualify after withdrawing from the first half of qualification, causing controversy in the country. 2023 co-hosts, Estonia, failed to qualify as well.

The highest ranked country to not qualify was Switzerland[a], ranked 33rd, while the lowest ranked team to qualify was Latvia, ranked 65th.

More information Means of qualification, Qualifier ...
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Summary of qualified teams

More information Team, Qualification method ...
Team Qualification method Date of qualification Appearance(s) Previous best performance[b] WR[c][24]
Total First Last Streak
 France Top eight in 2023 26 August 2023 19th 1949 2023 4 4th place (1951) 15
 Italy 28th 1951 23 Champions (2007, 2009, 2021) 1
 Turkey[d] 27 August 2023 17th 1963 12 Champions (2023) 3
 Netherlands 31st 1949 18 Champions (1995) 8
 Poland 33rd 16 Champions (2003, 2005) 5
 Bulgaria 32nd 1950 31 Champions (1981) 31
 Serbia[e] 28 August 2023 20th 1951 10 Champions (2011, 2017, 2019) 10
 Czech Republic[f] 29th 1949 3 Champions (1955) 14
 Ukraine Ninth in 2023 26 September 2023 11th 1993 5 3rd place (1993) 18
 Slovakia Tenth in 2023 6 December 2023 7th 2003 4 12th place (2003, 2019) 35
 Sweden Host nation 6 March 2024 6th 1967 3 8th place (2021) 21
 Azerbaijan 12 March 2024 11th 2005 11 4th place (2005, 2017) 49
 Slovenia Pool C winner 2 August 2025 4th 2015 2 16th place (2019) 19
 Germany Pool A winner 6 August 2025 18th 1991 18 Runners-up (2011, 2013) 12
 Romania Five best runner-ups 28th 1949 4 3rd place (1963) 28
 Greece Pool F winner 8th 1985 4 8th place (1991) 29
 Spain Pool E winner 9th 2005 4 9th place (2009) 30
 Montenegro Pool D winner 1st Debut 47
 Belgium Pool B winner 13th 1967 2023 7 3rd place (2013) 16
 Croatia Pool G winner 9 August 2025 16th 1993 11 Runners-up (1995, 1997, 1999) 40
 Austria Five best runner-ups 10 August 2025 4th1958 1971 1 12th place (1958, 1963) 43
 Latvia 4th 1993 1997 1 8th place (1997) 65
 Hungary 20th 1949 2023 6 Runners-up (1975) 26
 Portugal 2nd 2019 1 24th place (2019) 48
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Venues

Four venues in four countries will host the tournament. Each venue will host a group, while Istanbul and Brno will organise the knockout stage, with Istanbul hosting the semi-finals and finals. The currently in construction Arena Brno [cs; de] in Brno was supposed to be used for Czech's portion of the tournament, but had to be replaced by the Brno Exhibition Centre due to the arena not being built in time.[26][27] The Winning Group Arena was also considered as Brno's replacement.[28] This would've been the first major tournament held in Arena Brno [cs; de].

Overview of venues

Distribution of tournament
Istanbul will host preliminary round and knockout stage up to the final.
Brno will host preliminary round and knockout stage up to the quarterfinals.
Baku and Gothenburg will host preliminary round only
More information Istanbul, Gothenburg ...
Turkey Istanbul
2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship (Europe)
Gothenburg
Sinan Erdem DomeScandinavium
Capacity: 16,000Capacity: 10,000
BakuCzech Republic Brno
National Gymnastics ArenaBrno Exhibition Centre
Capacity: 9,000Capacity: 5,000
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More information Venue, Rounds ...
Tournament venues information
Venue Rounds Games
Turkey Sinan Erdem DomePool A, Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Final25
Czech Republic Brno Exhibition CentrePool B, Round of 16 and Quarterfinals,21
Azerbaijan National Gymnastics ArenaPool C15
Sweden ScandinaviumPool D15
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Group allocation of hosts

  • As the main organisers, Turkey were seeded into Pool A,
  • As the secondary venue, the Czech Republic were positioned in Pool B
  • As the two countries hosting a single group, Azerbaijan and Sweden are placed into Pool C and D respectively.

Final draw

The Castello Normanno-Svevo in Bari hosted the draw.

The final draw took place at 20:45 CET in Bari, Italy on 4 October 2025 at the Castello Normanno-Svevo.[33][34][35] Italian journalist, Simona Rolandi and CEV press officer, Federico Ferraro, were the hosts of the final draw. Azerbaijani middle blocker Ayshan Abdulazimova, Czech middle blocker Magdaléna Jehlářová, Swedish outside hitter Anna Haak and Turkish setter Dilay Özdemir were the guests for the final draw. The final draw started with the co-hosts and chosen teams being placed into their respective groups and continued with, in order, pots 1, 2, 3 and 4 being drawn, with each team selected then allocated into the first available group alphabetically.

Chosen teams

The organizers could select one team to join their pools.

More information Host team, Chosen team ...
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Seeding

The teams are seeded according to the CEV National Team rankings before the draw.[36]

The only restriction is that the two finalists from the previous edition, Serbia and Turkey, were drawn in different preliminary pools so that can only play each other in the final.

More information Pot 1, Pot 2 ...
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Quick facts
CEV EuroVolley 2026 – Drawing of Lots
YouTube logo
video icon Drawing of Lots Live Streaming
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Draw results

More information Pool A in Istanbul, Pool B in Brno ...
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Schedule

The schedule was announced on 27 October 2025.

More information Schedule, Round ...
Schedule
Round Matchday Date
Preliminary round All matches 21–28 August 2026
Knockout stage Round of 16 30 August – 1 September 2026
Quarterfinals 2–3 September 2026
Semifinals 5 September 2026
3rd place & Final 6 September 2026
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Title contenders

Ahead of the tournament, several national teams were the main title contenders for the final winner of the European Championships. As of August 20, according to the European bookmakers, Italy was rated as the leading contender to win the championship before the tournament, with Turkey and Serbia the next most favoured teams. Another betting company listed Italy at 1.90 to win the title, followed by Turkey at 3.30, Serbia at 8.00, and the Netherlands and Poland at 20.00, while other companies offered similar rankings, pricing Italy at 1.60, Turkey at 3.50, Serbia at 6.50, and Poland at 10.00.[37][38] Thus, although the exact odds varied between bookmakers, Italy was consistently the pre-tournament favourite, with Turkey and Serbia forming the principal challengers and Poland among the other leading contenders.

Squads

Referees

The following referees were selected for the tournament.

Preliminary round

  • All times are local.
  • The top four teams in each pool will qualify for the final round.
  • Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 match points for the winner, 0 match points for the loser
  • Match won 3–2: 2 match points for the winner, 1 match point for the loser

Tiebreakers

  1. Number of matches won
  2. Match points
  3. Sets ratio
  4. Points ratio
  5. If the tie continues as per the point ratio between two teams, the priority will be given to the team which won the match between them. When the tie in points ratio is between three or more teams, a new classification of these teams in the terms of points 1, 2, 3 and 4 will be made taking into consideration only the matches in which they were opposed to each other.

Pool A

Pool A will be played in Istanbul, Turkey from 21 to 28 August 2026.

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Turkey (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final round
2  Latvia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Poland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5  Slovenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6  Hungary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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First match(es) will be played: 21 August 2026. Source: CEV
(H) Host
More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
21 Aug19:00Turkey  Latvia  0–0 Report
22 Aug16:00Germany  Slovenia  0–0 Report
22 Aug19:00Hungary  Poland  0–0 Report
23 Aug16:00Latvia  Germany  0–0 Report
23 Aug19:00Slovenia  Turkey  0–0 Report
24 Aug16:00Poland  Latvia  0–0 Report
24 Aug19:00Turkey  Hungary  0–0 Report
25 Aug16:00Hungary  Germany  0–0 Report
25 Aug19:00Poland  Slovenia  0–0 Report
26 Aug16:00Slovenia  Latvia  0–0 Report
26 Aug19:00Germany  Turkey  0–0 Report
27 Aug16:00Poland  Germany  0–0 Report
27 Aug19:00Latvia  Hungary  0–0 Report
28 Aug16:00Slovenia  Hungary  0–0 Report
28 Aug19:00Turkey  Poland  0–0 Report
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Pool B

Pool B will be played in Brno, Czech Republic from 21 to 27 August 2026.

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Czech Republic (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final round
2  Austria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Serbia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Ukraine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5  Bulgaria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6  Greece 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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First match(es) will be played: 21 August 2026. Source: CEV
(H) Host
More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
21 Aug14:00Austria  Serbia  0–0 Report
21 Aug17:00Bulgaria  Ukraine  0–0 Report
21 Aug20:00Czech Republic  Greece  0–0 Report
22 Aug16:00Ukraine  Greece  0–0 Report
22 Aug19:00Austria  Czech Republic  0–0 Report
23 Aug16:00Greece  Bulgaria  0–0 Report
23 Aug19:00Czech Republic  Serbia  0–0 Report
24 Aug16:00Ukraine  Austria  0–0 Report
24 Aug19:00Serbia  Bulgaria  0–0 Report
25 Aug16:00Greece  Austria  0–0 Report
25 Aug19:00Czech Republic  Ukraine  0–0 Report
26 Aug16:00Austria  Bulgaria  0–0 Report
26 Aug19:00Serbia  Greece  0–0 Report
27 Aug16:00Ukraine  Serbia  0–0 Report
27 Aug19:00Czech Republic  Bulgaria  0–0 Report
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Pool C

Pool C will be played in Baku, Azerbaijan from 21 to 28 August 2026.

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Azerbaijan (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final round
2  Portugal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Netherlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Belgium 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5  Romania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6  Spain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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First match(es) will be played: 21 August 2026. Source: CEV
(H) Host
More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
21 Aug19:00Azerbaijan  Portugal  0–0 Report
22 Aug15:30Belgium  Spain  0–0 Report
22 Aug18:30Romania  Netherlands  0–0 Report
23 Aug15:30Portugal  Belgium  0–0 Report
23 Aug18:30Spain  Azerbaijan  0–0 Report
24 Aug15:30Netherlands  Portugal  0–0 Report
24 Aug18:30Azerbaijan  Romania  0–0 Report
25 Aug15:30Romania  Belgium  0–0 Report
25 Aug18:30Netherlands  Spain  0–0 Report
26 Aug15:30Spain  Portugal  0–0 Report
26 Aug18:30Belgium  Azerbaijan  0–0 Report
27 Aug15:30Netherlands  Belgium  0–0 Report
27 Aug18:30Portugal  Romania  0–0 Report
28 Aug15:30Spain  Romania  0–0 Report
28 Aug18:30Azerbaijan  Netherlands  0–0 Report
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Pool D

Pool D will be played in Gothenburg, Sweden from 21 to 27 August 2026.

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Sweden (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final round
2  Montenegro 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  France 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5  Slovakia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6  Croatia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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First match(es) will be played: 21 August 2026. Source: CEV
(H) Host
More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
21 Aug13:00France  Slovakia  0–0 Report
21 Aug16:00Croatia  Italy  0–0 Report
21 Aug19:00Sweden  Montenegro  0–0 Report
22 Aug15:00Italy  Montenegro  0–0 Report
22 Aug18:00Slovakia  Sweden  0–0 Report
23 Aug15:00France  Croatia  0–0 Report
23 Aug18:00Sweden  Italy  0–0 Report
24 Aug16:00Croatia  Slovakia  0–0 Report
24 Aug19:00Montenegro  France  0–0 Report
25 Aug16:00Italy  Slovakia  0–0 Report
25 Aug19:00Sweden  Croatia  0–0 Report
26 Aug16:00France  Italy  0–0 Report
26 Aug19:00Slovakia  Montenegro  0–0 Report
27 Aug16:00Croatia  Montenegro  0–0 Report
27 Aug19:00Sweden  France  0–0 Report
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Final round

  • All times are local.
 
Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
              
 
31 Aug/1 Sep – Istanbul
 
 
A1
 
3 September – Istanbul
 
C4
 
 
 
31 Aug/1 Sep – Istanbul
 
 
 
C2
 
5 September – Istanbul
 
A3
 
 
 
30/31 August – Brno
 
 
 
D1
 
2 September – Brno
 
B4
 
 
 
30/31 August – Brno
 
 
 
B2
 
6 September – Istanbul
 
D3
 
 
 
31 Aug/1 Sep – Istanbul
 
 
 
C1
 
3 September – Istanbul
 
A4
 
 
 
31 Aug/1 Sep – Istanbul
 
 
 
A2
 
5 September – Istanbul
 
C3
 
 
 
30/31 August – Brno
 
 3rd place match
 
B1
 
2 September – Brno6 September – Istanbul
 
D4
 
  
 
30/31 August – Brno
 
  
 
D2
 
 
B3
 

Round of 16

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
30 Aug     0–0 Report
30 Aug     0–0 Report
31 Aug     0–0 Report
31 Aug     0–0 Report
31 Aug     0–0 Report
31 Aug     0–0 Report
1 Sep     0–0 Report
1 Sep     0–0 Report
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Quarterfinals

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
2 Sep     0–0 Report
2 Sep     0–0 Report
3 Sep     0–0 Report
3 Sep     0–0 Report
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Semifinals

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
5 Sep     0–0 Report
5 Sep     0–0 Report
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3rd place match

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
6 Sep     0–0 Report
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Final

More information Date, Time ...
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
6 Sep     0–0 Report
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Final standings

Best results

Rankings table

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Final result
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Champions
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Runners-up
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Third place
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fourth place
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Quarterfinals
6 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Eighth finals
10 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fifth in preliminary round
18 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sixth in preliminary round
22 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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Source: [ EuroVolley 2026]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
More information Rank, Team ...
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Statistics

Notable occurrences

Tournament venues attendance

More information Venue, Total ...
Venue Total Avr Games
Azerbaijan National Gymnastics ArenaTBDTBD15
Czech Republic Brno Exhibition CentreTBDTBD21
Sweden ScandinaviumTBDTBD15
Turkey Sinan Erdem DomeTBDTBD25
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See also

Notes

  1. Russia, ranked 9th was not allowed to take part in qualification due to their suspension caused by the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.
  2. Bold text indicates they hosted that edition.
  3. World ranking at start of tournament.
  4. Turkey also belatedly qualified as a 2026 host nation.
  5. The CEV recognizes the Serbian national team as the successor to the Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro sporting achievements and results.[25]
  6. The CEV recognizes the Czech Republic as the successor to the Chechoslovakia sporting achievements and results Czech Republic also belatedly qualified as a 2026 host nation.

References

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