2026 Men's European Volleyball Championship
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host nations |  Bulgaria Finland Italy Romania |
| Dates | 2026 |
| Teams | 24 (from 1 confederation) |
The 2026 Men's European Volleyball Championship will be the 34th edition of the Men's European Volleyball Championship, organised by Europe's governing volleyball body, CEV. For the fourth time, the EuroVolley will be held in four countries.
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]
Host selection
On 5 December 2022, Romania was announced as the first host.[2][3] Bulgaria was confirmed as the second host on 26 February 2024, becoming the first ever country to host back to back European Championships.[4][5] Finnish city, Tampere, was given the hosting rights on 14 March 2024 and will host a group.[6][7] On 25 March 2024 Italy was announced as the fourth and final host.[8][9]
Qualification
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 off each teams' ranking.
Of the 24 teams who qualified, 21 of them were present at the previous tournament. After not even entering qualification for the 2023 edition, Sweden qualified for the first time since 1993.[10] Latvia and Slovakia returned after a one edition absence.
Israel qualified on merit for the first time. Israel and Switzerland qualified for a second consecutive edition for the very first time. North Macedonia and Portugal continued their record appearance streaks with four.
Of the non-qualifiers, Spain failed to qualify after qualifying for the previous four championships. Montenegro failed to advance after qualifying every time since their debut in 2019. Despite narrowly missing out on qualifying automatically, Croatia was winless in qualification and didn't manage to successfully qualify.
| Means of qualification | Qualifier | Means of qualification | Qualifier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host Countries | Bulgaria |
Qualification | Pool A |  Denmark
|
| Finland |
Pool B | .svg.png){kind=small} Belgium
| ||
| Italy |
Pool C |  Czech Republic
| ||
| Romania |
Pool D |  Estonia
| ||
| 2023 European Championship |  Poland |
Pool E | .svg.png){kind=small} Switzerland
| |
 Slovenia |
Pool F |  Greece
| ||
 France |
Pool G |  Slovakia
| ||
 Netherlands |
Best runners-up |  Latvia
| ||
 Serbia |
 Turkey
| |||
 Ukraine |
 Israel
| |||
 Germany |
 Sweden
| |||
.svg.png){kind=small} Portugal |
 North Macedonia
| |||
| Total 24 | ||||
Summary of qualified teams
| Team | Qualification method | Date of qualification | App | First | Last | Streak | Best placement in tournament | WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romania |
Host nation | 5 December 2022 | 19th | 2023 | 2023 | 2 | Champions (1963) | TBD |
| France |
Top eight in 2023 | 8 September 2023 | 32nd | 1948 | 15 | Champions (2015) | TBD | |
| Slovenia |
9 September 2023 | 11th | 2023 | 10 | Runners-up (2015, 2019, 2021) | TBD | ||
| Italy[a] |
33rd | 1948 | 32 | Champions (Seven times)[b] | TBD | |||
| Ukraine |
9th | 1993 | 4 | Sixth place (1993) | TBD | |||
| Netherlands |
29th | 1948 | 7 | Champions (1997) | TBD | |||
| Serbia |
10 September 2023 | 10th | 2007 | 10 | Champions (2011, 2019) | TBD | ||
| Poland |
29th | 1950 | 13 | Champions (2009, 2023) | TBD | |||
| Bulgaria |
Host nation | 26 February 2024 | 32nd | 10 | Runners-up (1951) | TBD | ||
| Germany |
Ninth in 2023 | 16th | 1991 | 10 | Runners-up (2017) | TBD | ||
| Finland |
Host nation | 14 March 2024 | 21st | 1955 | 10 | Fourth place (2007) | TBD | |
| Portugal |
Tenth in 2023 | 24 March 2024 | 8th | 1948 | 4 | Fourth place (1948) | TBD | |
| Czech Republic |
Pool C winner | 9 August 2025 | 15th | 1995 | 8 | Fourth place (1999, 2001) | TBD | |
| Belgium |
Pool B winner | 19th | 1948 | 4 | Fourth place (2017) | TBD | ||
| Turkey |
Five best runner-ups | 13 August 2025 | 13th | 1958 | 5 | Tenth place (2021) | TBD | |
| Estonia |
Pool D winner | 8th | 2009 | 6 | Eleventh place (2015) | TBD | ||
| Greece |
Pool F winner | 18th | 1967 | 4 | Sixth place (2005) | TBD | ||
| Slovakia |
Pool G winner | 12th | 1997 | 2021 | 1 | Fifth place (2011) | TBD | |
| Switzerland |
Pool E winner | 3rd | 1971 | 2023 | 2 | Nineteenth place (1971) | TBD | |
| Denmark |
Pool A winner | 6th | 1958 | 2 | Twelfth place (2013) | TBD | ||
| Sweden |
Five best runner-ups | 7th | 1971 | 1993 | 1 | Runners-up (1989) | TBD | |
| Latvia |
16 August 2025 | 3rd | 1995 | 2021 | 1 | Eleventh place (1995) | TBD | |
| Israel |
4th | 1951 | 2023 | 2 | Tenth place (1951) | TBD | ||
| North Macedonia |
17 August 2025 | 4th | 2019 | 4 | Sixteenth place (2023) | TBD |
Venues
After meetings in March 2025, Varna will be Bulgaria's venue.[11] In the same month, Cluj-Napoca was announced as the venue for the group in Romania.[12] On 6 June 2025, the Nokia Arena was announced as Finland's venue.[13] Naples, Modena, Turin and Milan are the venues in Italy.[14][15]
See also
Notes
References
- ^ "Volleyball Calendar 2025-2028 Approved By The FIVB Board Of Administration". FIVB. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
- ^ "Romania to host CEV EuroVolley 2025 Men pool phase!". CEV. 5 December 2022.
- ^ "ME siatkarzy. Rumunia pierwszym gospodarzem turnieju w 2025 roku". Dziennik Polski (in Polish). 5 December 2022.
- ^ "Bulgaria joins pool of CEV EuroVolley 2026 Men co-organisers". CEV. 26 February 2024.
- ^ "България ще бъде един от домакините на ЕвроВолей 2026 за мъже" [Bulgaria will be one of the hosts of EuroVolleyball 2026 for men]. BVF (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian Volleyball Federation. 26 February 2024.
- ^ "Tampere, Finland to welcome back CEV EuroVolley Men in 2026!". CEV. 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Veljekset pääsevät EM-mittelöön kotikentällä 2026 – Tampere miesten lentopallon EM-kisaisännäksi". Lentopalloliitto. 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Italy completes pool of CEV EuroVolley 2026 Men co-organisers". CEV. 25 March 2024.
- ^ "L'Italia coorganizzatrice dei Campionati Europei maschili 2026" (in Italian). Italian Volleyball Federation. 25 March 2024.
- ^ https://volleyboll.se/volleyboll/nyheter/landslag-volleyboll/2025-08-10-herrlandslaget-klart-for-volleyboll-em-2026---forsta-gangen-sedan-1993
- ^ https://www.bta.bg/bg/news/bulgaria/oficial-messages/851125-varna-ima-realen-shans-da-bade-domakin-na-evropeyskoto-parvenstvo-po-voleybol-pr
- ^ https://cluj24.ro/campionatul-european-de-volei-masculin-se-joaca-si-la-cluj-in-2026-emil-boc-cluj-napoca-oras-european-al-sportului-239772.html
- ^ https://www.cev.eu/articles/volleyball/cev-eurovolley-2026-men-at-nokia-arena-tampere-a-landmark-moment-for-finnish-and-european-volleyball/
- ^ https://www.cev.eu/articles/volleyball/four-iconic-host-cities-to-welcome-cev-eurovolley-2026-men/
- ^ https://www.federvolley.it/node/131636
External links
