Asian Volleyball Confederation

After William G. Morgan, the physical education director of the YMCA in Massachusetts, United States, invented the sport of volleyball in 1895, ten years later, in the early 1900s, the YMCA began spreading the sport to Asian countries such as Qing dynasty, Empire of Japan, the Philippine Islands, and British Raj.^[1][7]

Later, in 1913, volleyball was included in the Far Eastern Games held in Manila, Philippine Islands, which is considered the first international volleyball competition in the world.^[8] AVC was established in 1952, four years after the founding of the FIVB, following an initiative by Masaichi Nishikawa, then President of the Japan Volleyball Association.^[9]

Asia has become one of the most important continents in the world of volleyball, as it has the largest number of member federations and enjoys widespread popularity of the sport. The continent has also hosted many major international volleyball events — most notably, the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, which marked the debut of volleyball in the Olympic Games. In that historic event, the Japanese women's team won the first-ever Olympic gold medal in volleyball.

In September 2025, the AVC House was inaugurated in Bangkok.^[10]

• African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB)
• European Volleyball Confederation (CEV)
• North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA)
• South American Volleyball Confederation (CSV)