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2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League

The 2025 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League will be the seventh edition of the FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League, an annual men's international volleyball tournament. The competition will be held from 11 June to 3 August 2025, with the final round to take place at the Beilun Gymnasium in Ningbo, China.[1][2]

Following the results of the 2024 Challenger Cup, China made their comeback this edition, while Ukraine made their debuts as the top FIVB ranked team.

Qualification

In a change of format for this edition, none of the current teams relegated, and from this year 2025 onwards the competition expanded to 18 teams. The two extra spots were allocated to China, who won the 2024 Challenger Cup,[3] and Ukraine, the non-qualified top FIVB ranked team.[4]

Country Confederation Previous appearances Previous best performance
Total First Last
 Argentina CSV 6 2018 2024 5th place (2023)
 Brazil CSV 6 2018 2024 Champions (2021)
 Bulgaria CEV 6 2018 2024 11th place (2018)
 Canada NORCECA 6 2018 2024 6th place (2024)
 China AVC 4 2018 2023 13th place (2022)
 Cuba NORCECA 2 2023 2024 9th place (2024)
 France CEV 6 2018 2024 Champions (2022, 2024)
 Germany CEV 6 2018 2024 9th place (2018)
 Iran AVC 6 2018 2024 5th place (2019)
 Italy CEV 6 2018 2024 4th place (2022, 2023)
 Japan AVC 6 2018 2024 Runners-up (2024)
 Netherlands CEV 4 2021 2024 8th place (2022)
 Poland CEV 6 2018 2024 Champions (2023)
 Serbia CEV 6 2018 2024 5th place (2018)
 Slovenia CEV 4 2021 2024 4th place (2021, 2024)
 Turkey CEV 1 2024 16th place (2024)
 Ukraine CEV 0 0 None
 United States NORCECA 6 2018 2024 Runners-up (2019, 2022, 2023)

Format

Preliminary round

The format of play is generally the same as in the 2022 edition. However, this is the first time that 18 men's teams competing.Each week 6 teams during the pool phase. Each team play 12 matches during the pool stage. During three weeks each team plays 4 times in a table that is set up by a logarithm, with all teams playing 12 times in total at the end of the first phase. The 8 best teams advance to the quarter-finals while the last placed team loses its place to the highest FIVB ranked team that did not compete this year.The only country that has already qualified for this phase is China for hosting the finals and if it does not finish the first phase among the top eight, the top seven will qualify with the Chinese team being ranked 8th.[5]

Final round

The VNL Finals will see the top eight teams moving directly to the knockout phase, which will consist of eight matches in total: four quarterfinals, two semi-finals, and the bronze and gold medal matches.[5]

Final 8 direct elimination formula:

  • The first ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the eighth ranked team, the second ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the seventh ranked team, the third ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the sixth ranked team, and the fourth ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the fifth ranked team.
  • The national team of the hosting territory of the event will have a guaranteed berth for the Final round. If the host nation team do not finish in the top eight in the Preliminary round, they will replace the eighth place team and play as the eighth seed.

Pool composition

The overview of pools was released on 10 December 2024.[1]

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Pool 1
Canada
Pool 2
Brazil
Pool 3
China
Pool 4
Bulgaria
Pool 5
United States
Pool 6
Serbia
Pool 7
Poland
Pool 8
Slovenia
Pool 9
Japan

 Italy
 France
 Argentina
 Canada
 Germany
 Bulgaria

 Slovenia
 United States
 Brazil
 Cuba
 Ukraine
 Iran

 Poland
 Japan
 Serbia
 Netherlands
 Turkey
 China

 Japan
 France
 Slovenia
 Ukraine
 Turkey
 Bulgaria

 Poland
 Italy
 United States
 Brazil
 Canada
 China

 Argentina
 Serbia
 Germany
 Cuba
 Netherlands
 Iran

 Poland
 France
 Cuba
 Iran
 Bulgaria
 China

 Italy
 Slovenia
 Canada
 Serbia
 Netherlands
 Ukraine

 Japan
 United States
 Brazil
 Argentina
 Germany
 Turkey

Venues

Preliminary round

Week 1
Pool 1 Pool 2 Pool 3
Quebec City, Canada Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Xi'an, China
Videotron Centre Ginásio do Maracanãzinho Xi'an Qujiang Sports Center
Capacity: 10,500 Capacity: 12,000 Capacity: 10,000
Week 2
Pool 4 Pool 5 Pool 6
Burgas, Bulgaria Hoffman Estates, United States Belgrade, Serbia
Arena Burgas Now Arena Belgrade Arena
Capacity: 4,100 Capacity: 10,543 Capacity: 18,386
Week 3
Pool 7 Pool 8 Pool 9
Gdańsk, Poland Ljubljana, Slovenia Chiba, Japan
Ergo Arena Arena Stožice Chiba Port Arena
Capacity: 11,409 Capacity: 12,480 Capacity: 7,512

Final round

All matches
Ningbo, China
Beilun Gymnasium
Capacity: 8,000

Competition schedule

Preliminary round Final round
Week 1
11–15 Jun
Week 2
25–29 Jun
Week 3
16–20 Jul
Week 4
30 Jul – 3 Aug
36 matches 36 matches 36 matches 8 matches

Pool standing procedure

  1. Total number of victories (matches won, matches lost)
  2. In the event of a tie, the following first tiebreaker will apply, with the teams ranked by the most points gained per match as follows:
    • Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 points for the winner, 0 points for the loser
    • Match won 3–2: 2 points for the winner, 1 point for the loser
    • Match forfeited: 3 points for the winner, 0 points (0–25, 0–25, 0–25) for the loser
  3. If teams are still tied after examining the number of victories and points gained, the FIVB will examine the results in order to break the tie in the following order:
    • Sets quotient: if two or more teams are tied on the number of points gained, they will be ranked by the quotient resulting from the division of the number of all sets won by the number of all sets lost.
    • Points quotient: if the tie persists based on the sets quotient, the teams will be ranked by the quotient resulting from the division of all points scored by the total of points lost during all sets.
    • If the tie persists based on the points quotient, the tie will be broken based on the team that won the match between the tied teams during the Round Robin Phase. When the tie in points quotient is between three or more teams, these teams will be ranked taking into consideration only the matches involving the teams in question.

Preliminary round

Ranking

Pos Team Pld W L Pts SW SL SR SPW SPL SPR Qualification
1  Argentina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final round
2  Brazil 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Bulgaria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Canada 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5  China[a] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final round
6  Cuba 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final round
7  France 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8  Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9  Iran 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10  Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11  Japan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12  Netherlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13  Poland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14  Serbia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15  Slovenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16  Turkey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17  Ukraine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
18  United States 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 11 June 2024. Source: VNL 2025 – Men's standings
Notes:
  1. ^ Qualified as finals' host

Week 1

Pool 1

Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
11 Jun 11:00 Bulgaria   Italy     0–0 Report
11 Jun 16:30 Argentina   France     0–0 Report
11 Jun 20:00 Germany   Canada     0–0 Report
12 Jun 16:30 Germany   Italy     0–0 Report
12 Jun 20:00 Argentina   Canada     0–0 Report
13 Jun 16:30 Bulgaria   Argentina     0–0 Report
13 Jun 20:00 France   Italy     0–0 Report
14 Jun 16:30 Canada   France     0–0 Report
14 Jun 20:00 Bulgaria   Germany     0–0 Report
15 Jun 11:00 Argentina   Italy     0–0 Report
15 Jun 14:30 Germany   France     0–0 Report
15 Jun 18:00 Bulgaria   Canada     0–0 Report

Pool 2

Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
11 Jun 14:00 Ukraine   United States     0–0 Report
11 Jun 17:30 Brazil   Iran     0–0 Report
11 Jun 21:00 Slovenia   Cuba     0–0 Report
12 Jun 17:30 Brazil   Cuba     0–0 Report
12 Jun 21:00 United States   Iran     0–0 Report
13 Jun 17:30 Ukraine   Cuba     0–0 Report
13 Jun 21:00 Iran   Slovenia     0–0 Report
14 Jun 10:00 Ukraine   Brazil     0–0 Report
14 Jun 13:30 United States   Slovenia     0–0 Report
15 Jun 10:00 Brazil   Slovenia     0–0 Report
15 Jun 13:30 Ukraine   Iran     0–0 Report
15 Jun 17:00 Cuba   United States     0–0 Report

Pool 3

Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
11 Jun 13:30 Poland   Netherlands     0–0  
11 Jun 17:00 China   Japan     0–0  
11 Jun 20:30 Serbia   Turkey     0–0  
12 Jun 17:00 China   Serbia     0–0  
12 Jun 20:30 Poland   Japan     0–0  
13 Jun 17:00 Japan   Serbia     0–0  
13 Jun 20:30 Netherlands   Turkey     0–0  
14 Jun 15:00 China   Netherlands     0–0  
14 Jun 19:00 Turkey   Poland     0–0  
15 Jun 11:30 Netherlands   Japan     0–0  
15 Jun 15:00 China   Turkey     0–0  
15 Jun 19:00 Poland   Serbia     0–0  

Week 2

Pool 4

Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
25 Jun 12:30 Ukraine   France     0–0  
25 Jun 16:00 Turkey   Slovenia     0–0  
25 Jun 19:30 Bulgaria   Japan     0–0  
26 Jun 15:00 France   Japan     0–0  
26 Jun 18:30 Turkey   Ukraine     0–0  
27 Jun 16:00 Ukraine   Japan     0–0  
27 Jun 19:30 Bulgaria   Slovenia     0–0  
28 Jun 15:30 Slovenia   France     0–0  
28 Jun 19:00 Bulgaria   Turkey     0–0  
29 Jun 12:00 Slovenia   Japan     0–0  
29 Jun 15:30 Turkey   France     0–0  
29 Jun 19:00 Bulgaria   Ukraine     0–0  

Pool 5

Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
25 Jun 12:30 Italy   Poland     0–0  
25 Jun 16:00 Canada   Brazil     0–0  
25 Jun 19:30 China   United States     0–0  
26 Jun 16:00 Brazil   China     0–0  
26 Jun 19:30 Canada   United States     0–0  
27 Jun 16:00 China   Italy     0–0  
27 Jun 19:30 Canada   Poland     0–0  
28 Jun 16:00 Brazil   Italy     0–0  
28 Jun 19:30 United States   Poland     0–0  
29 Jun 12:30 China   Canada     0–0  
29 Jun 16:00 Brazil   Poland     0–0  
29 Jun 19:30 United States   Italy     0–0  

Pool 6

Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
25 Jun 13:00 Germany   Cuba     0–0  
25 Jun 16:30 Netherlands   Argentina     0–0  
25 Jun 20:00 Serbia   Iran     0–0  
26 Jun 16:30 Netherlands   Germany     0–0  
26 Jun 20:00 Serbia   Cuba     0–0  
27 Jun 16:30 Argentina   Iran     0–0  
27 Jun 20:00 Netherlands   Cuba     0–0  
28 Jun 16:30 Germany   Iran     0–0  
28 Jun 20:00 Serbia   Argentina     0–0  
29 Jun 13:00 Iran   Netherlands     0–0  
29 Jun 16:30 Cuba   Argentina     0–0  
29 Jun 20:00 Germany   Serbia     0–0  

Week 3

Pool 7

Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
16 Jul 13:00 China   France     0–0  
16 Jul 16:30 Bulgaria   Cuba     0–0  
16 Jul 20:00 Iran   Poland     0–0  
17 Jul 16:30 China   Iran     0–0  
17 Jul 20:00 Cuba   Poland     0–0  
18 Jul 16:30 Cuba   France     0–0  
18 Jul 20:00 China   Bulgaria     0–0  
19 Jul 17:00 Bulgaria   Poland     0–0  
19 Jul 20:30 Iran   France     0–0  
20 Jul 13:30 China   Cuba     0–0  
20 Jul 17:00 Bulgaria   Iran     0–0  
20 Jul 20:30 France   Poland     0–0  

Pool 8

Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
16 Jul 13:00 Ukraine   Netherlands     0–0  
16 Jul 16:30 Serbia   Italy     0–0  
16 Jul 20:30 Canada   Slovenia     0–0  
17 Jul 16:30 Ukraine   Italy     0–0  
17 Jul 20:30 Netherlands   Slovenia     0–0  
18 Jul 16:30 Ukraine   Serbia     0–0  
18 Jul 20:00 Netherlands   Canada     0–0  
19 Jul 16:30 Serbia   Canada     0–0  
19 Jul 20:30 Slovenia   Italy     0–0  
20 Jul 13:00 Ukraine   Canada     0–0  
20 Jul 16:30 Netherlands   Italy     0–0  
20 Jul 20:30 Serbia   Slovenia     0–0  

Pool 9

Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report
15 Jul 19:30 United States   Japan     0–0  
16 Jul 12:30 Argentina   Brazil     0–0  
16 Jul 16:00 Turkey   United States     0–0  
17 Jul 16:00 Germany   Japan     0–0  
17 Jul 16:00 Turkey   Germany     0–0  
17 Jul 19:30 Argentina   Japan     0–0  
18 Jul 16:00 Argentina   United States     0–0  
18 Jul 19:30 Turkey   Brazil     0–0  
19 Jul 16:00 Germany   United States     0–0  
19 Jul 19:30 Brazil   Japan     0–0  
20 Jul 14:00 Turkey   Argentina     0–0  
29 Jun 17:30 Germany   Brazil     0–0  

Final standing

Awards

  • Most valuable player
  • Best setter
  • Best outside spikers
  • Best opposite spiker
  • Best middle blockers
  • Best libero


See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Host cities, pools and ticket information revealed for revamped VNL 2025!" (Press release). FIVB. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  2. ^ 2025年世界男排联赛总决赛落户宁波北仑 中国男排主场作战迎击强手 [The 2025 Men's Volleyball Nations League Finals will be held in Ningbo Beilun. The Chinese men's volleyball team will play at home against strong opponents.]. Volleyball China (in Chinese). 8 February 2025. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  3. ^ "China return to the VNL with Challenger Cup gold". Volleyball World. 7 July 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  4. ^ Pareja, Marcos Menocal (14 February 2024). "Volleyball Nations League (VNL) to feature 18 teams from 2025". Inside the Games. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b "VNL 2025 Competition Formula". Volleyball World. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.