2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship

The 2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship will be the 34th edition of the Women's European Volleyball Championship, organised by Europe's governing volleyball body, CEV. For the fourth consecutive time, the EuroVolley will be held in four countries. Turkey are the defending champions.

2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship
Tournament details
Host nations Azerbaijan
 Czech Republic
 Sweden
 Turkey
Teams24
Venue(s)4 (in 4 host cities)

Year change

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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

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Czech Republic was announced as the first co-host on 6 December 2023, with games at a new arena in Brno.[5][6] On 6 March 2024, Sweden became the second host with games to take place at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg.[7][8][9] On 12 March 2024, Azerbaijan became the third host with one group to be held in the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku.[10][11] Finally, while widely reported to be a host,[12][13] Turkey was officially announced as the final host on 8 November 2024.[14]

Qualification

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Means of qualification Qualifier Means of qualification Qualifier
Host Countries   Azerbaijan Qualification Pool A
  Czech Republic Pool B
  Sweden Pool C
  Turkey Pool D
2023 European Championship   Serbia Pool E
  Netherlands Pool F
  Italy Pool G
  Poland Best runners-up
  France
  Bulgaria
  Ukraine
  Slovakia
Total 24

Summary of qualified teams

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Team Qualification method Date of qualification App First Last Streak Best placement in tournament WR
  France 1–8 from 2023 26 August 2023 19th 1949 2023 4 Fourth place (1951) TBD
  Italy 28th 1951 23 Champions (2007, 2009, 2021) TBD
  Turkey[A] 27 August 2023 17th 1963 12 Champions (2023) TBD
  Netherlands 31st 1949 18 Champions (1995) TBD
  Poland 33rd 16 Champions (2003, 2005) TBD
  Bulgaria 32nd 1950 31 Champions (1981) TBD
  Serbia 28 August 2023 10th 2007 10 Champions (2011, 2017, 2019) TBD
  Czech Republic[B] 13th 1995 3 Third place (1997) TBD
  Ukraine Ninth in 2023 26 September 2023 11th 1993 5 Third place (1993) TBD
  Slovakia Tenth in 2023 6 December 2023 7th 2003 4 Twelfth place (2003, 2019) TBD
  Sweden Host nation 6 March 2024 6th 1967 3 Eighth place (2021) TBD
  Azerbaijan 12 March 2024 11th 2005 11 Fourth place (2005, 2017) TBD

Venues

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Each venue will host a group, while Ankara and Brno will organise the knockout stage, with Ankara hosting the semi-finals and final, just as in 2019. Turkish Volleyball Federation president, Mehmet Akif Üstündağ declared the plans about the hosting the opening match in the new national stadium that is currently under construction in Ankara.[15]

  Ankara
 
 
Baku
(not on map)
  Brno
Ankara Arena
Capacity: 10,400
Arena Brno
Capacity: 13,300
 
  Gothenburg   Baku
Scandinavium
Capacity: 10,000
National Gymnastics Arena
Capacity: 9,000
   

Notes

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  1. ^ Turkey also belated qualified as a 2026 host nation.
  2. ^ Czech Republic also belated qualified as a 2026 host nation.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Volleyball Calendar 2025-2028 Approved By The FIVB Board Of Administration". FIVB. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Český volejbal se přihlásil o pořadatelství evropského šampionátu žen 2026". Český Volejbal (in Czech). Czech Volleyball Federation. 22 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Ανανέωσε με την Τσεχία ο Αθανασόπουλος". ERT Sports (in Greek). 22 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Türkiye Set to Host the 2026 CEV Women's European Volleyball Championship Finals". FTN News. 26 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Brno, Czechia to host CEV EuroVolley 2026 Women up to quarterfinals!". CEV. 6 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Český volejbal uspěl se svojí kandidaturou!". Český Volejbal (in Czech). Czech Volleyball Federation. 6 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Sweden poised to co-host CEV EuroVolley 2026 Women!". CEV. 6 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Volleyboll-EM 2026 till Sverige – Göteborg blir värdstad". Svensk Volleyboll. 6 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Volleyboll: Sverige klart som arrangör för damernas volleyboll-EM 2026". SVT Sport. 6 March 2024.
  10. ^ "CEV EuroVolley Women returns to Azerbaijan!". CEV. 6 March 2024.
  11. ^ "2026-cı ildə voleybol üzrə Avropa çempionatı Azərbaycanda keçiriləcək". Report İnformasiya Agentliyi. 12 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Türkiye to host 2026 CEV Women's European Volleyball finals". TRT World. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Avrupa Şampiyonası, 2026'da Türkiye'de yapılacak". Gazete Duvar. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Türkiye to host CEV EuroVolley 2026 Finals!". CEV. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  15. ^ "Mehmet Akif Üstündağ: Filenin Efeleri'nin yeni başantrenörünü cuma açıklayacağız". Voleybol Plus. 10 February 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
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