2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship qualification

In today's world, 2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship qualification is a topic that has gained relevance in different areas. From education to technology, through politics and health, 2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship qualification has captured the attention of various actors and has generated a wide debate in society. As time progresses, it becomes evident that 2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship qualification is an issue that cannot be ignored, as its impact is increasingly palpable in people's daily lives. In this article, we will analyze different aspects related to 2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship qualification, in order to understand its importance and the implications it has in our current reality.

This article describes the qualification for the 2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship.[1]

Qualification

Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Sweden and Turkey as host countries were directly qualified. The eight best placed teams at the 2023 edition also gained direct entries into the tournament. 21 teams compete for the remaining 12 places at the final tournament.

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

Direct qualification

All of the hosted countries' teams directly qualified for the tournament. Then, the top eight teams from previous edition also automatically qualified.

Qualified for the 2026 European Championship
Qualified as hosts for the 2026 European Championship
Rank Team
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Turkey
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Serbia
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Netherlands
4  Italy
5  Poland
6  France
7  Bulgaria
8  Czech Republic
9  Ukraine
10  Slovakia
11  Romania
12  Germany
13  Spain
14   Switzerland
15  Belgium
16  Sweden
17  Azerbaijan
18 Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina
19  Greece
20  Slovenia
21  Finland
22  Croatia
23  Estonia
24  Hungary

Format

There being seven pools of either three teams each, the winners of each pool and the 5 best runners-up qualified for the 2026 European Championship. The pools were played in a double round-robin.

Schedule

The dates were updated to adapt to the new FIVB calendar.

Round Round date[1][2]
Matchday 1 17/18 August 2024
Matchday 2 24/25 August 2024
Matchday 3 28/29 August 2024
Matchday 4 2/3 August 2025
Matchday 5 6 August 2025
Matchday 6 9/10 August 2025

Pools composition

The pools were set following the Serpentine system according to their European Ranking for national teams as of 6 November 2023. Rankings are shown in brackets.[1]

Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D Pool E Pool F Pool G
 Germany (6)  Belgium (10)  Slovenia (13)  Bosnia and Herzegovina (15)  Spain (16)  Greece (17)  Romania (18)
  Switzerland (26)  Hungary (25)  Israel (24)  Montenegro (23)  Portugal (22)  Austria (21)  Croatia (19)
 Finland (27)  Denmark (28)  Estonia (29)  Latvia (31)  Georgia (32)  North Macedonia (33)  Kosovo (NR)

Pool standing procedure

  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 last 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 and 3 will be made taking into consideration only the matches in which they were opposed to each other.

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

Results

  • The winners in each pool and the top five of the second ranked teams qualified for the 2026 European Championship.

Pool A

Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Germany 2 2 0 6 6 0 MAX 163 118 1.381 2026 European Championship
2   Switzerland 2 1 1 2 3 5 0.600 166 199 0.834 2026 European Championship if one of five best second-ranked team
3  Finland 2 0 2 1 2 6 0.333 166 178 0.933
Source: CEV
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
18 Aug 2024 15:00 Finland  2–3   Switzerland 25–18 26–28 23–25 25–17 12–15 111–103 Report
24 Aug 2024 17:00 Switzerland  0–3  Germany 36–38 18–25 9–25     63–88 Report
29 Aug 2024 18:00 Germany  3–0  Finland 25–20 25–20 25–15     75–55 Report
    Finland  –  Germany              
    Switzerland  –  Finland              
    Germany  –   Switzerland              

Pool B

Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Hungary 2 2 0 5 6 2 3.000 183 156 1.173 2026 European Championship
2  Belgium 2 1 1 3 3 3 1.000 135 134 1.007 2026 European Championship if one of five best second-ranked team
3  Denmark 1 0 1 1 2 3 0.667 155 183 0.847
Source: CEV
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
17 Aug 2024 19:00 Denmark  2–3  Hungary 28–26 18–25 25–17 16–25 9–15 96–108 Report
24 Aug 2024 18:30 Hungary  3–0  Belgium 25–22 25–18 25–20     75–60 Report
28 Aug 2024 20:30 Belgium  3–0  Denmark 25–19 25–17 25–23     75–59 Report
    Denmark  –  Belgium              
    Hungary  –  Denmark              
    Belgium  –  Hungary              

Pool C

Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Slovenia 2 2 0 6 6 0 MAX 150 101 1.485 2026 European Championship
2  Israel 2 1 1 3 3 4 0.750 140 162 0.864 2026 European Championship if one of five best second-ranked team
3  Estonia 2 0 2 0 1 6 0.167 141 168 0.839
Source: CEV
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
17 Aug 2024 16:00 Estonia  1–3  Israel 23–25 18–25 25–18 21–25   87–93 Report
27 Aug 2024 19:00 Slovenia  3–0  Israel 25–19 25–13 25–15     75–47 Report
29 Aug 2024 19:00 Slovenia  3–0  Estonia 25–21 25–16 25–17     75–54 Report
    Israel  –  Slovenia              
    Estonia  –  Slovenia              
    Israel  –  Estonia              

Pool D

Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Latvia 1 1 0 2 3 2 1.500 113 103 1.097 2026 European Championship
2  Montenegro 1 0 1 1 2 3 0.667 103 113 0.912 2026 European Championship if one of five best second-ranked team
3  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 — Withdrew
Source: CEV
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
17 Aug 2024 16:15 Latvia  3–2  Montenegro 26–24 25–19 24–26 23–25 15–9 113–103 Report
25 Aug 2024 20:00 Montenegro  –  Bosnia and Herzegovina             Report
28 Aug 2024 20:15 Bosnia and Herzegovina  –  Latvia             Report
    Latvia  –  Bosnia and Herzegovina              
    Montenegro  –  Latvia              
    Bosnia and Herzegovina  –  Montenegro              

Pool E

Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Spain 2 2 0 6 6 0 MAX 150 92 1.630 2026 European Championship
2  Portugal 2 1 1 3 3 3 1.000 138 137 1.007 2026 European Championship if one of five best second-ranked team
3  Georgia 2 0 2 0 0 6 0.000 91 150 0.607
Source: CEV
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
17 Aug 2024 19:00 Georgia  0–3  Portugal 23–25 18–25 21–25     62–75 Report
25 Aug 2024 17:00 Portugal  0–3  Spain 20–25 22–25 21–25     63–75 Report
28 Aug 2024 17:00 Spain  3–0  Georgia 25–9 25–8 25–12     75–29 Report
    Georgia  –  Spain              
    Portugal  –  Georgia              
    Spain  –  Portugal              

Pool F

Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Greece 2 2 0 6 6 0 MAX 150 94 1.596 2026 European Championship
2  Austria 2 1 1 3 3 3 1.000 136 126 1.079 2026 European Championship if one of five best second-ranked team
3  North Macedonia 2 0 2 0 0 6 0.000 84 150 0.560
Source: CEV
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
17 Aug 2024 20:15 North Macedonia  0–3  Austria 14–25 17–25 20–25     51–75 Report
25 Aug 2024 20:20 Austria  0–3  Greece 18–25 20–25 23–25     61–75 Report
28 Aug 2024 20:30 Greece  3–0  North Macedonia 25–8 25–14 25–11     75–33 Report
    North Macedonia  –  Greece              
    Austria  –  North Macedonia              
    Greece  –  Austria              

Pool G

Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Croatia 2 2 0 6 6 0 MAX 150 98 1.531 2026 European Championship
2  Romania 2 1 1 3 3 3 1.000 130 118 1.102 2026 European Championship if one of five best second-ranked team
3  Kosovo 2 0 2 0 0 6 0.000 86 150 0.573
Source: CEV
Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
17 Aug 2024 20:00 Kosovo  0–3  Croatia 16–25 18–25 9–25     43–75 Report
24 Aug 2024 18:00 Croatia  3–0  Romania 25–19 25–14 25–22     75–55 Report
29 Aug 2024 18:00 Romania  3–0  Kosovo 25–13 25–16 25–14     75–43 Report
    Kosovo  –  Romania              
    Croatia  –  Kosovo              
    Romania  –  Croatia              

Ranking of the second placed teams

  • The top five of the second placed teams qualified for the 2026 European Championship.
Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Romania 2 1 1 3 3 3 1.000 130 118 1.102 2026 European Championship
2  Austria 2 1 1 3 3 3 1.000 136 126 1.079
3  Portugal 2 1 1 3 3 3 1.000 138 137 1.007
4  Belgium 2 1 1 3 3 3 1.000 135 134 1.007
5  Israel 2 1 1 3 3 4 0.750 140 162 0.864
6  Montenegro 1 0 1 1 2 3 0.667 103 113 0.912
7   Switzerland 2 1 1 2 3 5 0.600 166 199 0.834
Source: [citation needed]

Controversies

Bosnia and Herzegovina's withdrawal

After withdrawing from the Silver League in the 2024 Women's European Volleyball League,[3][4] the president of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina controversially withdrew the team from the European Championship qualification despite the women's team being named the best Bosnian national team in 2023 and qualifying for two successive European Championships.[5]

When the federation announced this decision, the Armed Forces president, Milutin Popović, criticised members of the Armed Forces for internal disagreements in the association and also stated the some board members did not respond to him regarding the organisation of a meeting to do with the participation of the Bosnian national teams in 2024. Thus, they only managed to organise a meeting on 7 August, two weeks from Bosnia's first game against Montenegro.[6] Due to the lack of meetings, the federation also failed to get a coach for the qualifiers. Plus, he also alleged that they didn't receive funding from the government via the national lottery.

Following that statement, the Armed Forces vice president, Alija Fatić, responded to Popović by saying that it was not their decision to withdraw, rather it was Popović's choice to not to play the qualifiers and is quoted saying ""The real truth is that Popovic is incompetent, he didn't do anything".[7] Fatić also states that, unlike what Popović says, they have had several meetings but conversations about the national team was never on the agenda. The volleyball federation had also reportedly offered to fund the preparations and qualification matches, with the Bosnian Olympic Committee also offering to provide equipment, but Popović rejected this proposal.[7][5]

President of the volleyball federation, Miloš Jelčić, further reiterated Fatić's claim while also mentioning that other athletes like swimmer Lana Pudar and her coaches have the same issues with Popović too.[8]

On 28 August 2024, the Bosnian volleyball federation denied media reports regarding their finances.[9]

In Popović's statement, he reportedly asked the CEV, if they receive the approval from group opponents Montenegro and Latvia, they would like to postpone their qualifiers for 2025.[6] However, this seems unlikely.

It is likely that the Bosnian volleyball federation will fined 50,000 Euros and suspended from national team competitions for two years due to their no-show in the qualifiers.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d https://inside.cev.eu/media/qjobjw13/web_ev2026-commun.pdf
  2. ^ "Volleyball players against the Czech Republic and Norway for Eurovolley, volleyball players from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Latvia".
  3. ^ "SISTEMSKO URUŠAVANJE SPORTA: Otkazan nastup ženske reprezentacije BiH". www.ljudski.ba. May 3, 2024.
  4. ^ "Sport1 - Reakcija članova UO OSBiH iz Federacije BiH: Jedini krivac je Milutin Popović". www.oslobodjenje.ba. May 11, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Sport1 - SKANDALOZNO: Odbojkašice BiH neće igrati kvalifikacije za Euro". www.oslobodjenje.ba. August 20, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Novi šamar bh. sportu: Ženska odbojkaška reprezentacija BiH otkazala kvalifikacije za Evropsko prvenstvo!". Raport.ba - Najnovije vijesti. August 19, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Sport1 - Fatić za Sport1: Milutin Popović je sve zloupotrijebio". www.oslobodjenje.ba. August 23, 2024.
  8. ^ "Sport1 - Plašim se da nema lijeka za našu odbojku". www.oslobodjenje.ba. June 21, 2024.
  9. ^ https://sport1.oslobodjenje.ba/s1/ostali-sportovi/odbojka/odbojkaski-savez-bih-uputio-demant-izmisljeni-podaci-plasirani-sa-odredenom-namjenom-887943
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