| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host nations |  Azerbaijan  Turkey  Czech Republic  Sweden |
| Teams | 24 |
| Venue(s) | 4 (in 4 host cities) |
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.
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]
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]
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. [15] Austria will return after 55 years, breaking the record for the longest-ever gap for any team between appearances; [16] [17] alongside the record, Austria qualified on merit for the first time. Latvia comes back for the first time since 1997. [18] [19] 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 | ||||
| Team | Qualification method | Date of qualification | App | First | Last | Streak | Best placement in tournament | WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 [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 | ||
| 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 | |||
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. [20]
| Ankara | Brno | |
|---|---|---|
| Ankara Arena Capacity: 10,400 | Arena Brno Capacity: 13,300 | |
 | ||
| Gothenburg | Baku | |
| Scandinavium Capacity: 10,000 | National Gymnastics Arena Capacity: 9,000 | |
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