The 2026 CEV Men’s EuroVolley will bring together 24 teams across four host nations from September 9 to 26, with Europe’s leading sides battling for the continental title and qualification for two major international events.
The 34th edition of the continental championship will award the winner a direct quota berth to LA28, while the top three finishers will secure qualification for the 2027 Men’s World Cup.
The competition divides its 24-team field into four pools. Pool A features hosts Italy alongside Sweden, Slovenia, Czechia, Greece and Slovakia. Pool B, hosted at Arena 8888 in Sofia, brings together hosts Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Poland, Ukraine, Portugal and Israel.
Nokia Arena in Tampere will stage Pool C, featuring hosts Finland, Estonia, Serbia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark. Meanwhile, Pool D will take place at BTarena in Cluj-Napoca, grouping hosts Romania with Latvia, France, Germany, Türkiye and Switzerland.
Italy will serve as the anchor host for the event’s final stages. The competition will open at the historic Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples, while the remaining Pool A fixtures will be played at PalaPanini in Modena.
Following the pool stage, the round of 16 and quarterfinals will move to the Palavela in Turin, before the semifinals and medal matches take place at Milan’s PalaItalia Unipol Dome.
Poland and France enter the tournament as the leading contenders, backed by world-class pedigree and dominant recent form in international competition. Poland, the reigning EuroVolley champions, consistently showcase unmatched squad depth and elite execution, reinforced by strong podium finishes in global events such as the VNL.
France enter with similar title-contending credentials as back-to-back Olympic champions, demonstrating tactical flexibility that makes them formidable in knockout competition. Hosts Italy remain a centrepiece favourite, leveraging home-court advantage across four historic venues, with the multi-time continental champions possessing a core capable of controlling momentum against any elite opponent.
The championship’s expanded format creates significant opportunities for dark-horse contenders to disrupt the established hierarchy. Slovenia stand out as the primary threat to the traditional powerhouses, having built a proven track record as EuroVolley finalists who consistently punch above their weight on the biggest stages.
Germany’s discipline routinely pushes elite teams into high-stress scenarios, while Serbia retain the veteran composure required to outmanoeuvre higher-ranked opponents in critical bracket match-ups. Additionally, teams such as Bulgaria, Ukraine, Belgium and Türkiye present compelling upset potential, as their consistent exposure to high-calibre competition in the VNL sharpens their big-match readiness against higher-ranked titleholders.
Beyond high-level international exposure, many participating nations are accelerating their competitiveness through systemic structural support via the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment Projects Platform. The initiative provides critical technical guidance, direct financial assistance, high-performance coaching, equipment upgrades and knowledge transfer to help developing volleyball programmes build long-term success.
Entering this edition of the CEV Men’s EuroVolley, 16 of the 24 qualified teams have directly benefited from these Empowerment resources, setting the stage for an unusually competitive tournament.
In Western Europe (WEVZA), five federations received substantial backing. The Netherlands received USD 248,000 to enlist head coach Joel Banks (2025–2026), alongside USD 6,000 in equipment support received in 2018. Belgium are in the second phase of a USD 189,000 grant supporting head coach Emanuele Zanini (2024–2026), adding to USD 6,000 in equipment upgrades from 2018.
Switzerland are wrapping up a USD 126,000 project with Juan Manuel Serramalera as youth head coach and senior assistant (2025–2026), while Germany are completing a USD 42,000 project supporting youth head coach Fabian Tobias and national team science coach Michael Warm (2024–2026). Portugal are set to receive USD 84,000 in coaching grants for technicians João José and Mário Martins (2026–2027), having previously received USD 67,000 in equipment and USD 12,000 in knowledge transfer projects in 2024.
The Middle Europe zone (MEVZA) and Northern Europe (NEVZA) also feature heavily supported programmes. Slovenia received USD 964,000 in coaching support for head coach Fabio Soli (2023–2026), Czechia are utilising USD 84,000 for head coach Jiří Novák (2024–2026) following USD 6,000 in knowledge transfer (2025), and Israel completed a USD 42,000 project with head coach Itamar Stein (2025).
In NEVZA, Pool C hosts Finland received a USD 168,000 investment for head coach Olli Kunnari (2024–2026) alongside USD 12,000 in knowledge transfer. Sweden received USD 126,000 for head coach Gido Vermeulen (2024–2026) following USD 12,000 in prior knowledge transfer, while Denmark completed a USD 126,000 initiative enlisting head coach Kristian Knudsen (2023–2025), backed by USD 3,000 in equipment upgrades from 2019.
Eastern European and Balkan federations complete the extensive support network. Pool B hosts Bulgaria received USD 84,000 for head coach Gian Lorenzo Blengini (2025–2026) and USD 167,000 in equipment support through 2025.
Pool D hosts Romania wrapped up a USD 84,000 project with head coach Sergiu Stancu (2025–2026), augmenting USD 10,500 in equipment and USD 12,000 in knowledge transfer (2023). Greece fulfilled their USD 84,000 project under U19 coach Konstantinos Liossis (2024–2025), supported by USD 121,500 in equipment upgrades through 2024.
Finally, in EEVZA, Ukraine received USD 287,750 in targeted programme support (2022–2026), while Latvia benefited from a USD 210,000 coaching project for Raimonds Liniņš and Andris Nuķis alongside USD 210,500 in equipment support utilised through 2025.
With high-calibre powerhouses, battle-tested dark horses and empowered contenders across every pool, EuroVolley 2026 promises a highly competitive tournament from start to finish. As the action sweeps across the host cities towards the grand finale in Milan, fans can expect three weeks of high-level competition featuring Europe’s leading teams.
