2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship

2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship
Tournament details
Host nations Azerbaijan
 Czech Republic
 Sweden
 Turkey
Dates21 August – 6 September 2026
Teams24
Venue(s)4 (in 4 host cities)

The 2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship, commonly referred to as EuroVolley Women 2026, will be the 34th edition of the biannual continental tournament for women's national volleyball teams, organised by Europe's governing volleyball body, CEV. The tournament will be held between from 21 August to 6 September 2026. It will be organised in Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Sweden and Turkey, marking the fourth consecutive time EuroVolley will be held in four countries, after the multi-country hosting system was first used in 2019. Turkey will host the final in Istanbul.

24 teams will participate for the fourth time as well. Qualification took place in August 2024 and 2025 to decide the final 12 spots. The four co-hosts qualified automatically. Montenegro will make their debut, while Austria and Latvia return after long absences.

After FIVB's calendar changes starting 2025, this will be the first European Championship since 1958 to be held in an even-numbered year.

The winner qualifies for the Volleyball tournament at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The top three finishers will also qualify for the 2027 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship in Canada and United States.

Turkey are the defending champions, having beaten Serbia 3–2 in the final in Brussels.

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] This will be the first European Championship since 1958 to be held in an even-numbered year.

Host selection

  •  Czech Republic[2][3] – Czech Republic was announced as the first co-host on 6 December 2023, with games at a new arena in Brno.[4][5] This will be Czech Republic's third time hosting after 1993 and 1997.
  •  Sweden – On 6 March 2024, Sweden became the second host with games to take place at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg.[6][7][8] This will be Sweden's first time hosting.
  •  Azerbaijan – On 12 March 2024, Azerbaijan became the third host with one group to be held in the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku.[9][10] This will be Azerbaijan's second time organising after 2017.
  •  Turkey[11] – While widely reported to be a host,[12][13] Turkey was officially announced as the final host on 8 November 2024.[14] According to the Turkish federation, Turkish president, Tayyip Erdoğan, helped get the competition.[15] This will be Turkey's fourth time organising after 1967, 2003 and 2019.

Rejected countries

The following countries had expressed interest but didn't make the cut:[16]

  •  Austria – Austria was provisionally given the hosting rights, but after an unknown city unexpectedly withdrew and the Austrian federation reluctant to ask their government for more money due to the government giving money for beach volleyball events, the Austrians asked for a two-week extension on making a decision. At this time as well, the Azerbaijani government had offered to host the group. With the choice to give Austria a two-week extension or giving the event to Azerbaijan, they chose the latter.[17] Austria's only known possible venue was in Vienna.
  •  Finland – Finland was briefly mentioned as a possible host in November 2022, but this never materialised.

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, 20 of them were present at the previous tournament. Montenegro are the only debutants, after winning Group D.[18] Austria will return after 55 years, breaking the record for the longest-ever gap for any team between appearances;[19][20] alongside the record, Austria qualified on merit for the first time. Latvia comes back for the first time since 1997.[21][22] Portugal advanced for the first time after their debut in 2019.

Of the non-qualifiers, Finland and Switzerland both missed out in Group A, with the two taking part in the three previous editions. Bosnia and Herzegovina didn't qualify after withdrawing from the first half of qualification, causing controversy in the country. 2023 co-hosts, Estonia, failed to qualify as well.

Means of qualification Qualifier Means of qualification Qualifier
Host Countries  Azerbaijan Qualification Pool A  Germany
 Czech Republic Pool B  Belgium
 Sweden Pool C  Slovenia
 Turkey Pool D  Montenegro
2023 European Championship  Serbia Pool E  Spain
 Netherlands Pool F  Greece
 Italy Pool G  Croatia
 Poland Best runners-up  Romania
 France  Hungary
 Bulgaria  Portugal
 Ukraine  Latvia
 Slovakia  Austria
Total 24

Summary of qualified teams

Team Qualification method Date of qualification Appearance(s) Previous best performance[a] WR[b]
Total First Last Streak
 France Top eight in 2023 26 August 2023 19th 1949 2023 4 Fourth place (1951) TBD
 Italy 28th 1951 23 Champions (2007, 2009, 2021) TBD
 Turkey[c] 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[d] 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
 Slovenia Pool C winner 2 August 2025 4th 2015 2 Round of 16 (2019) TBD
 Germany Pool A winner 6 August 2025 18th 1991 18 Runners-up (2011, 2013) TBD
 Romania Five best runner-ups 28th 1949 4 Third place (1963) TBD
 Greece Pool F winner 8th 1985 4 Eighth place (1991) TBD
 Spain Pool E winner 9th 2005 4 Ninth place (2009) TBD
 Montenegro Pool D winner 1st Debut TBD
 Belgium Pool B winner 13th 1967 2023 7 Third place (2013) TBD
 Croatia Pool G winner 9 August 2025 16th 1993 11 Runners-up (1995, 1997, 1999) TBD
 Austria Five best runner-ups 10 August 2025 4th 1958 1971 1 Twelfth place (1958, 1963) TBD
 Latvia 4th 1993 1997 1 Eighth place (1997) TBD
 Hungary 20th 1949 2023 6 Runners-up (1975) TBD
 Portugal 2nd 2019 1 24th place (2019) TBD

Venues

Four venues in four countries will host the tournament. Each venue will host a group, while Istanbul and Brno will organise the knockout stage, with Istanbul hosting the semi-finals and finals. The currently in construction Arena Brno in Brno was supposed to be used for Czech's portion of the tournament, but had to be replaced by the Brno Exhibition Centre due to the arena not being built in time.[23][24] The Winning Group Arena was also considered as Brno's replacement.[25] This would've been the first major tournament held in Arena Brno.

Overview of venues

Distribution of tournament
Istanbul will host preliminary round and knockout stage up to the final.
Brno will host preliminary round and knockout stage up to the quarterfinals.
Baku and Gothenburg will host preliminary round only
Istanbul
2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship (Europe)
Gothenburg
Sinan Erdem Dome Scandinavium
Capacity: 16,000 Capacity: 10,000
Baku Brno
National Gymnastics Arena Brno Exhibition Centre
Capacity: 9,000 Capacity: 5,000
Tournament venues information
Venue Rounds Games
Sinan Erdem Dome Pool A, Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Final 25
Brno Exhibition Centre Pool B, Round of 16 and Quarterfinals, 21
National Gymnastics Arena Pool C 15
Scandinavium Pool D 15

Group allocation of hosts

  • As the main organisers, Turkey were seeded into Pool A,
  • As the secondary venue, the Czech Republic were positioned in Pool B
  • As the two countries hosting a single group, Azerbaijan and Sweden are placed into Pool C and D respectively.

Final draw

The final draw took place at 20:45 CET in Bari, Italy on 4 October 2025 at the Castello Normanno-Svevo.[30][31][32] Italian journalist, Simona Rolandi and CEV press officer, Federico Ferraro, were the hosts of the final draw. Azerbaijani middle blocker Ayshan Abdulazimova, Czech middle blocker Magdaléna Jehlářová, Swedish outside hitter Anna Haak and Turkish setter Dilay Özdemir were the guests for the final draw. The final draw started with the co-hosts and chosen teams being placed into their respective groups and continued with, in order, pots 1, 2, 3 and 4 being drawn, with each team selected then allocated into the first available group alphabetically.

Chosen teams

The organizers could select one team to join their pools.

Host team Chosen team
 Azerbaijan  Portugal
 Czech Republic  Austria
 Sweden  Montenegro
 Turkey  Latvia

Seeding

The teams are seeded according to the CEV National Team rankings before the draw.[33]

The only restriction is that the two finalists from the previous edition, Serbia and Turkey, were drawn in different preliminary pools so that can only play each other in the final.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
 Serbia
 Italy
 Poland
 Netherlands
 France
 Germany
 Ukraine
 Belgium
 Romania
 Bulgaria
 Slovenia
 Slovakia
 Hungary
 Greece
 Spain
 Croatia
CEV EuroVolley 2026 – Drawing of Lots
Drawing of Lots Live Streaming

Draw results

Pool A in Istanbul Pool B in Brno Pool C in Baku Pool D in Gothenburg
 Turkey (H)  Czech Republic (H)  Azerbaijan (H)  Sweden (H)
 Latvia  Austria  Portugal  Montenegro
 Poland  Serbia  Netherlands  Italy
 Germany  Ukraine  Belgium  France
 Slovenia  Bulgaria  Romania  Slovakia
 Hungary  Greece  Spain  Croatia

Schedule

The schedule was announced on 27 October 2025.[34]

Schedule
Round Matchday Date
Preliminary round All rounds 21–28 August 2026
Knockout stage Eighth-finals 30 August – 1 September 2026
Quarter-finals 2–3 September 2026
Semi-finals 5 September 2026
Final 6 September 2026

Preliminary round

  • All times are local.
  • The top four teams in each pool will qualify for the final round.
  • Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 match points for the winner, 0 match points for the loser
  • Match won 3–2: 2 match points for the winner, 1 match point for the loser

Tiebreakers

  1. Number of matches won
  2. Match points
  3. Sets ratio
  4. Points ratio
  5. If the tie continues as per the point ratio between two teams, the priority will be given to the team which won the match between them. When the tie in points ratio is between three or more teams, a new classification of these teams in the terms of points 1, 2, 3 and 4 will be made taking into consideration only the matches in which they were opposed to each other.

Pool A

Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Turkey (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final round
2  Latvia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Poland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5  Slovenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6  Hungary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 21 August 2026. Source: CEV
(H) Host
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
21 Aug 19:00 Turkey   Latvia     0–0   Report
22 Aug 16:00 Germany   Slovenia     0–0   Report
22 Aug 19:00 Hungary   Poland     0–0   Report
23 Aug 16:00 Latvia   Germany     0–0   Report
23 Aug 19:00 Slovenia   Turkey     0–0   Report
24 Aug 16:00 Poland   Latvia     0–0   Report
24 Aug 19:00 Turkey   Hungary     0–0   Report
25 Aug 16:00 Hungary   Germany     0–0   Report
25 Aug 19:00 Poland   Slovenia     0–0   Report
26 Aug 16:00 Slovenia   Latvia     0–0   Report
26 Aug 19:00 Germany   Turkey     0–0   Report
27 Aug 16:00 Poland   Germany     0–0   Report
27 Aug 19:00 Latvia   Hungary     0–0   Report
28 Aug 16:00 Slovenia   Hungary     0–0   Report
28 Aug 19:00 Turkey   Poland     0–0   Report

Pool B

Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Czech Republic (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final round
2  Austria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Serbia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Ukraine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5  Bulgaria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6  Greece 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 21 August 2026. Source: CEV
(H) Host
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
21 Aug 14:00 Austria   Serbia     0–0   Report
21 Aug 17:00 Bulgaria   Ukraine     0–0   Report
21 Aug 20:00 Czech Republic   Greece     0–0   Report
22 Aug 16:00 Ukraine   Greece     0–0   Report
22 Aug 19:00 Austria   Czech Republic     0–0   Report
23 Aug 16:00 Greece   Bulgaria     0–0   Report
23 Aug 19:00 Czech Republic   Serbia     0–0   Report
24 Aug 16:00 Ukraine   Austria     0–0   Report
24 Aug 19:00 Serbia   Bulgaria     0–0   Report
25 Aug 16:00 Greece   Austria     0–0   Report
25 Aug 19:00 Czech Republic   Ukraine     0–0   Report
26 Aug 16:00 Austria   Bulgaria     0–0   Report
26 Aug 19:00 Serbia   Greece     0–0   Report
27 Aug 16:00 Ukraine   Serbia     0–0   Report
27 Aug 19:00 Czech Republic   Bulgaria     0–0   Report

Pool C

Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Azerbaijan (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final round
2  Portugal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Netherlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Belgium 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5  Romania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6  Spain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 21 August 2026. Source: CEV
(H) Host
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
21 Aug 19:00 Azerbaijan   Portugal     0–0   Report
22 Aug 15:30 Belgium   Spain     0–0   Report
22 Aug 18:30 Romania   Netherlands     0–0   Report
23 Aug 15:30 Portugal   Belgium     0–0   Report
23 Aug 18:30 Spain   Azerbaijan     0–0   Report
24 Aug 15:30 Netherlands   Portugal     0–0   Report
24 Aug 18:30 Azerbaijan   Romania     0–0   Report
25 Aug 15:30 Romania   Belgium     0–0   Report
25 Aug 18:30 Netherlands   Spain     0–0   Report
26 Aug 15:30 Spain   Portugal     0–0   Report
26 Aug 18:30 Belgium   Azerbaijan     0–0   Report
27 Aug 15:30 Netherlands   Belgium     0–0   Report
27 Aug 18:30 Portugal   Romania     0–0   Report
28 Aug 15:30 Spain   Romania     0–0   Report
28 Aug 18:30 Azerbaijan   Netherlands     0–0   Report

Pool D

Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Sweden (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final round
2  Montenegro 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  France 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5  Slovakia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6  Croatia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 21 August 2026. Source: CEV
(H) Host
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Attd Report
21 Aug 13:00 France   Slovakia     0–0   Report
21 Aug 16:00 Croatia   Italy     0–0   Report
21 Aug 19:00 Sweden   Montenegro     0–0   Report
22 Aug 15:00 Italy   Montenegro     0–0   Report
22 Aug 18:00 Slovakia   Sweden     0–0   Report
23 Aug 15:00 France   Croatia     0–0   Report
23 Aug 18:00 Sweden   Italy     0–0   Report
24 Aug 16:00 Croatia   Slovakia     0–0   Report
24 Aug 19:00 Montenegro   France     0–0   Report
25 Aug 16:00 Italy   Slovakia     0–0   Report
25 Aug 19:00 Sweden   Croatia     0–0   Report
26 Aug 16:00 France   Italy     0–0   Report
26 Aug 19:00 Slovakia   Montenegro     0–0   Report
27 Aug 16:00 Croatia   Montenegro     0–0   Report
27 Aug 19:00 Sweden   France     0–0   Report

Final standing

Marketing

Tickets

Tickets were released on 7 November 2025.[35]

Official ticket websites

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Bold text indicates they hosted that edition.
  2. ^ World ranking at start of tournament.
  3. ^ Turkey also belatedly qualified as a 2026 host nation.
  4. ^ Czech Republic also belatedly qualified as a 2026 host nation.

References

  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. ^ "Brno, Czechia to host CEV EuroVolley 2026 Women up to quarterfinals!". CEV. 6 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Český volejbal uspěl se svojí kandidaturou!". Český Volejbal (in Czech). Czech Volleyball Federation. 6 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Sweden poised to co-host CEV EuroVolley 2026 Women!". CEV. 6 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Volleyboll-EM 2026 till Sverige – Göteborg blir värdstad". Svensk Volleyboll. 6 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Volleyboll: Sverige klart som arrangör för damernas volleyboll-EM 2026". SVT Sport. 6 March 2024.
  9. ^ "CEV EuroVolley Women returns to Azerbaijan!". CEV. 6 March 2024.
  10. ^ "2026-cı ildə voleybol üzrə Avropa çempionatı Azərbaycanda keçiriləcək". Report İnformasiya Agentliyi. 12 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Türkiye Set to Host the 2026 CEV Women's European Volleyball Championship Finals". FTN News. 26 September 2023.
  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. ^ "Cumhurbaşkanı Sayın Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Dünya İkincisi Filenin Sultanları'nı Kabul Etti". Türkiye Voleybol Federasyonu | TVF.
  16. ^ "CEV Board of Administration Minutes - Term 2020-2024" (PDF).
  17. ^ "CEV Board of Administration Minutes - Term 2020-2024 Page 32" (PDF).
  18. ^ "Odbojkašice na Evropskom prvenstvu!".
  19. ^ "Historisch! Österreichs Volleyball-Damen lösen erstmals über Qualifikation das EM-Ticket!". August 10, 2025.
  20. ^ "Historischer Sonntag für ÖVV-Damen – Stimmen zum EM-Traum". August 11, 2025.
  21. ^ "'Tas ir neticami!' Latvijas sieviešu volejbola izlase pēc 28 gadiem kvalificējas Eiropas čempionāta finālturnīram". LA.LV.
  22. ^ ""Tas ir milzīgs panākums" – ticība ļāva Latvijas volejbolistēm sasniegt finālturnīru". www.delfi.lv.
  23. ^ "Z arény na výstaviště. Takový je osud budoucího mistrovství Evropy žen ve volejbale". www.centrum.cz.
  24. ^ ČTK, iDNES cz (November 6, 2025). "Volejbalistky odehrají ME na výstavišti, Arena Brno nejspíš nebude připravena". iDNES.cz.
  25. ^ https://brnensky.denik.cz/ostatni_region/volejbal-zeny-me-2026-brno-vystaviste-vstupenky.html#:~:text=Ve%20volejbalov%C3%A9%20komunit%C4%9B%20st%C3%A1le%20je%C5%A1t%C4%9B%20dozn%C3%ADv%C3%A1%20zklam%C3%A1n%C3%AD%2C,Z%C3%A1rove%C5%88%20je%20ale%20%C4%8Das%20ji%C5%BE%20myslet%20pragmaticky.
  26. ^ "Host Venues Baku". eurovolley.cev.eu.
  27. ^ "Host Venues Brno". eurovolley.cev.eu.
  28. ^ "Host Venues Gothenburg". eurovolley.cev.eu.
  29. ^ "Host Venues Istanbul". eurovolley.cev.eu.
  30. ^ "24 teams to learn their fate in the Drawing of Lots for the CEV EuroVolley 2026 Women | CEV".
  31. ^ Ferraro, Federico (2 October 2025). "EuroVolley 2026 DOL coming up this Saturday, tickets to go on sale November 7!". CEV. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  32. ^ https://www.cev.eu/articles/volleyball/familiar-faces-to-meet-at-the-cev-eurovolley-2026-women-after-exciting-drawing-of-lots/
  33. ^ "Rankings | CEV". www.cev.eu.
  34. ^ https://tvf.org.tr/icerik/filenin-sultanlarinin-2026-cev-avrupa-sampiyonasi-mac-programi-belli-oldu#:~:text=MHGK%20Duyurular-,Filenin%20Sultanlar%C4%B1'n%C4%B1n%202026%20CEV%20Avrupa%20%C5%9Eampiyonas%C4%B1%20Ma%C3%A7%20Program%C4%B1%20Belli,%C5%9Eampiyonas%C4%B1nda%20grup%20etab%C4%B1%20fikst%C3%BCr%C3%BC%20a%C3%A7%C4%B1kland%C4%B1.
  35. ^ "EuroVolley 2026 DOL coming up this Saturday, tickets to go on sale November 7! | CEV".