Tournaments

The most important volleyball tournaments are the Volleyball World Championship, the Volleyball World Cup, the Volleyball Nations League and undeniably the Olympics. The Volleyball World Championship is a competition held by the FIVB. It takes place every 4 years and it lasts a couple of weeks.

A man seen from chest down holding two yellow and blue volleyballs in his hand.

The Volleyball World Cup is another tournament organized by the FIVB held once every four years. It is attended by high-level men’s and women’s teams from all over the world. It serves as a qualifying competition for the Olympics since the 1991 World Cup was held the year before. It also serves as a void between the two tournaments, the FIVB World Championship and the Olympics.

Another one held by the FIVB is the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) annual international tournament. It was only first introduced in 2018 but gained a lot of success. It features the top national teams from all around the world. It often takes place over several weeks in a round-robin format in the preliminary round. The Chinese and Cuban women’s team are tied for second in the gold medal count with three each.

The VNL is a year event with matches all over the world every week. This unique format and structure are what sets the VNL apart. Finally, the Olympics, one of the major volleyball tournaments. They are proof of the greatness of a team. The former Soviet Union has seven gold medals in Olympic volleyball and that is the most of any nation in history.