After the unprecedented success of the 2023 edition, the European Men's Volleyball Championship will return to Italy in 2026. The news was announced by the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV). The reigning world champions and European runners-up will relish the opportunity to host a second successive tournament, with the Italians joining forces with already confirmed co-hosts Bulgaria, Finland and Romania.
"The decision to trust the Italian Volleyball Federation is proof of our continued successful collaboration and, at the same time, of their total commitment to our sport, which has made the Italian Volleyball Federation a leader in promoting and spreading the love of volleyball around the world. With the appointment of Italy as a co-host of the Men's EuroVolley 2026, it is our desire to build on the valuable legacy of the 2023 edition and reach new heights", said CEV President Aleksandar Boricic.
Italy welcomed the debut edition of the European back in 1948. Since CEV was founded in 1963, the country has also hosted the tournaments in 2005 and 2015, when it partnered with Serbia and Montenegro and Bulgaria respectively, as well as last year's highly successful edition - matches were held in Bologna, Perugia, Ancona, Bari and Rome, and Bulgaria was again one of the hosts along with Israel and North Macedonia.
EuroVolley 2026 will have 24 teams - a format that has been in place since 2019. The four co-hosts plus eight directly qualifying teams according to the final standings of last year's competition - Poland, Slovenia, France, Netherlands, Serbia, Ukraine, Germany and Portugal - are certain participants, and they will be joined by a further 12 teams who will compete for a place at the tournament through the European qualifications. They are scheduled for the summer of 2024 and 2025. The new European champion in two years will qualify for the Olympic tournament at the Los Angeles Games in 2028. /BGNES
