Volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's qualification

The qualification for the 2020 women's Olympic volleyball tournament allocated twelve teams quota spots: the host, the winners of each of six Intercontinental Qualifying Tournaments, and five continental Olympic qualification tournament champions. ^[1] Teams already qualified for the event were not eligible to play in the following qualification tournaments. The 2020 Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . ^[2]

Qualification summary

Event		Dates	Venue(s)	Quota	Qualifier(s)
Host nation [3]		—		1	Japan
Intercontinental Qualifier	Pool A	1–4 August 2019	Wrocław	1	Serbia
	Pool B		Ningbo	1	China
	Pool C		Bossier City	1	United States
	Pool D		Uberlândia	1	Brazil
	Pool E		Kaliningrad	1	ROC
	Pool F		Catania	1	Italy
African Qualifier		5–9 January 2020	Yaoundé	1	Kenya
South American Qualifier		7–9 January 2020	Bogotá	1	Argentina
Asian Qualifier		7–12 January 2020	Nakhon Ratchasima	1	South Korea
European Qualifier		7–12 January 2020	Apeldoorn	1	Turkey
North American Qualifier		10–12 January 2020	Santo Domingo	1	Dominican Republic
Total				12

Timeline

Confederation	Tournament		Dates	Venue	Teams
FIVB (Intercontinental)	FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification	Pool A	2–4 August 2019	Wrocław	4
		Pool B	2–4 August 2019	Ningbo	4
		Pool C	2–4 August 2019	Bossier City	4
		Pool D	1–3 August 2019	Uberlândia	4
		Pool E	2–4 August 2019	Kaliningrad	4
		Pool F	2–4 August 2019	Catania	4
CAVB (Africa)	CAVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification		5–9 January 2020	Yaoundé	5
AVC (Asia and Oceania)	Asian Championship		17–25 August 2019	Seoul	11+2
	AVC Tokyo Volleyball Qualification		7–12 January 2020	Nakhon Ratchasima	7
CEV (Europe)	CEV Tokyo Volleyball Qualification		7–12 January 2020	Apeldoorn	8
NORCECA (North America)	NORCECA Champions Cup		22–24 August 2019	Colorado Springs	4
	NORCECA Championship		8–13 October 2019	San Juan	8
	NORCECA Tokyo Volleyball Qualification		10–12 January 2020	Santo Domingo	4
CSV (South America)	South American Championship		28 August–1 September 2019	Cajamarca	8
	CSV Tokyo Volleyball Qualification		7–9 January 2020	Bogotá	4

Pool standing procedure

For all qualification tournaments except North American qualification tournament Total number of victories (matches won, matches lost) In the event of a tie, the following first tiebreaker will apply: The teams will be ranked by the most point 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 If teams are still tied after examining the number of victories and points gained, then the FIVB will examine the results in order to break the tie in the following order: Set 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 set won by the number of all sets lost. Points quotient: if the tie persists based on the set 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 point quotient, the tie will be broken based on the team that won the match of the Round Robin Phase between the tied teams. When the tie in point quotient is between three or more teams, these teams ranked taking into consideration only the matches involving the teams in question.

For North American qualification tournament only Number of matches won Match points Points ratio Sets ratio Result of the last match between the tied teams Match won 3–0: 5 match points for the winner, 0 match points for the loser Match won 3–1: 4 match points for the winner, 1 match point for the loser Match won 3–2: 3 match points for the winner, 2 match points for the loser

Host country

FIVB reserved a vacancy for the 2020 Olympic Games host country to participate in the tournament.

•   Japan

Intercontinental Olympic Qualification Tournaments

• The winners in each pool will qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Qualification round

Twenty-four teams qualified for the competition as the top twenty-four teams of FIVB World Rankings on 1 January 2019 (except Japan who qualified as host.). ^{[4] [5]}

	Qualified to 2019 FIVB IOQT
	Qualified but withdrew
	2020 Summer Olympics host country

Seeding	Team	WC 2015	OG 2016	WGP 2017	WCH 2018	Total
1	Serbia	90	90	42	100	322
2	China	100	100	40	80	320
3	United States	80	80	38	58	256
4	Brazil	50	50	50	50	200
5	Russia	70	50	28	50	198
–	Japan	50	50	32	58	190
6	Netherlands	0	70	38	70	178
7	Italy	0	30	45	90	165
8	South Korea	40	50	18	30	138
9	Dominican Republic	30	3	30	45	108
10	Argentina	25	30	8	30	93
11	Turkey	0	3	24	45	72
12	Puerto Rico	0	20	14	36	70
13	Thailand	0	3	26	36	65
14	Germany	0	2	17	40	59
15	Bulgaria	0	0	15	40	55
16	Cameroon	0	20	2	25	47
17	Canada	0	2	12	30	44
18	Belgium	0	2	22	18	42
19	Kenya	5	0	2	30	37
20	Mexico	0	0	2	33	35
21	Azerbaijan	0	0	0	33	33
22	Kazakhstan	0	1	6	25	32
23	Czech Republic	0	0	16	15	31
–	Cuba	5	0	0	25	30
24	Poland	0	1	20	8	29

Qualified teams

Teams were seeded following the serpentine system according to their FIVB World Ranking as of 1 January 2019. ^{[4] [6]} Rankings are shown in brackets.

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D	Pool E	Pool F
Serbia (1)	China (2) (H)	United States (3) (H)	Brazil (4) (H)	Russia (5) (H)	Netherlands (7)
Puerto Rico (13)	Turkey (12)	Argentina (11)	Dominican Republic (10)	South Korea (9)	Italy (8) (H)
Thailand (14)	Germany (15)	Bulgaria (16)	Cameroon (17)	Canada (18)	Belgium (19)
Poland (26) (H)	Czech Republic (24)	Kazakhstan (23)	Azerbaijan (22)	Mexico (21)	Kenya (20)

Notes

• Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.
• (H): Qualification group hosts

Final round

Main article: 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Intercontinental Olympic Qualification Tournaments

Means of qualification

Qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games

Pool A Pos Team Pld Pts 1   Serbia (Q) 3 9 2   Poland (H) 3 5 3   Thailand 3 4 4   Puerto Rico 3 0 Source: FIVB (H) Host; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Pool B Pos Team Pld Pts 1   China (H, Q) 3 9 2   Turkey 3 6 3   Germany 3 3 4   Czech Republic 3 0 Source: FIVB (H) Host; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Pool C Pos Team Pld Pts 1   United States (H, Q) 3 8 2   Bulgaria 3 7 3   Argentina 3 3 4   Kazakhstan 3 0 Source: FIVB (H) Host; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Pool D Pos Team Pld Pts 1   Brazil (H, Q) 3 7 2   Dominican Republic 3 7 3   Azerbaijan 3 4 4   Cameroon 3 0 Source: FIVB (H) Host; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Pool E Pos Team Pld Pts 1   Russia (H, Q) 3 8 2   South Korea 3 7 3   Canada 3 3 4   Mexico 3 0 Source: FIVB (H) Host; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Pool F Pos Team Pld Pts 1   Italy (H, Q) 3 9 2   Netherlands 3 6 3   Belgium 3 3 4   Kenya 3 0 Source: FIVB (H) Host; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Continental Olympic Qualification Tournaments

Africa

Main article: Volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's African qualification

Of the 5 entered teams, only winner of this round was qualified to the 2020 Olympics.

Means of qualification

Qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games

Round robin

Pos	Team	Pld	Pts
1	Kenya (Q)	4	11
2	Cameroon (H)	4	10
3	Egypt	4	6
4	Nigeria	4	3
5	Botswana	4	0

Source: FIVB
(H) Host; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Asia and Oceania

• The winners in final round will qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Qualified teams

Of the 61 AVC and IOC member associations, a total of 13 AVC member national teams entered the qualifying stage

Qualification round Pool A Pool B   South Korea (H)   Japan   Iran   Kazakhstan   Hong Kong   Australia   India Pool C Pool D   Thailand   China   Chinese Taipei   Sri Lanka   New Zealand   Indonesia

Final round Pool A Pool B   Thailand (H)   South Korea   Chinese Taipei   Kazakhstan   Australia   Iran   Indonesia

Notes

• Teams in bold qualified for the next phase and final tournament.
• (H): Qualification group hosts

Qualification round

Main article: 2019 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship

Of the 13 qualified teams, top eight teams (excluding Japan, and 2019 IOQT pool B winners China) will be qualified to the next round.

Means of qualification

	Qualified for the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament
	Qualified for the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament playoffs

Pool A Pos Team Pld Pts 1   South Korea (H, Q) 2 6 2   Iran (Q) 2 3 3   Hong Kong 2 0 Source: AVC (H) Host; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Pool B Pos Team Pld Pts 1   Japan 3 9 2   Kazakhstan (Q) 3 6 3   Australia 3 3 4   India 3 0 Source: AVC (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Pool C Pos Team Pld Pts 1   Thailand (Q) 2 6 2   Chinese Taipei (Q) 2 3 3   New Zealand 2 0 Source: AVC (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Pool D Pos Team Pld Pts 1   China 2 6 2   Indonesia (Q) 2 3 3   Sri Lanka 2 0 Source: AVC (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Pool G Pos Team Pld Pts 1   Hong Kong 1 3 2   New Zealand 1 0 Source: AVC

Pool H Pos Team Pld Pts 1   Australia 2 6 2   India 2 2 3   Sri Lanka 2 1 Source: AVC

9th–12th Classification round

	Ninth place playoffs				Ninth place
	24 August
	Hong Kong	0
					25 August
	India (Q)	3
					India	2
	24 August
					Australia	3
	Australia (Q)	3
	New Zealand	2
					Eleventh place
					25 August
					Hong Kong	3
					New Zealand	1

Final round

Main article: Volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's Asian qualification

Of the 8 qualified teams, only winner of this round will be qualified to the 2020 Olympics.

Means of qualification

Qualified for the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament semifinals

Pool A Pos Team Pld Pts 1   Thailand (H) 2 6 2   Chinese Taipei 2 3 3   Australia 2 0 Source: AVC (H) Host

Pool B Pos Team Pld Pts 1   South Korea 3 9 2   Kazakhstan 3 6 3   Indonesia 3 2 4   Iran 3 1 Source: AVC

Final four   Semi-finals Final                 11 January       South Korea 3   12 January     Chinese Taipei 1     South Korea (Q) 3   11 January     Thailand 0     Thailand 3       Kazakhstan 1   Third place     12 January       Chinese Taipei 1       Kazakhstan 3

Europe

• The winners in final round will qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Qualification round

Eight teams qualified for the competition as the top eight teams of CEV European Rankings on 1 October 2019 (except Serbia, Russia and Italy who qualified as Intercontinental Qualifier winners).

	Qualified to 2019 CEV COQT
	Qualified as Intercontinental Qualifier winners

Seeding	Team	ECH 2019	ECH 2017	WCH 2018	WGP 2017	Total
–	Serbia	100	100	50	48	298
–	Italy	96	92	48	50	286
1	Netherlands	92	98	46	46	282
2	Turkey	98	96	42	42	278
–	Russia	88	90	44	44	266
3	Germany	90	86	40	36	252
4	Bulgaria	86	84	40	32	242
5	Poland	94	82	26	38	240
6	Belgium	84	74	34	40	232
7	Croatia	80	80	24	30	214
8	Azerbaijan	82	94	36	0	212

Final round

Main article: Volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's European qualification

Of the 8 qualified teams, only winner of this round will be qualified to the 2020 Olympics.

Means of qualification

Qualified for the European Olympic Qualification Tournament semifinals

Pool A Pos Team Pld Pts 1   Poland 3 9 2   Netherlands (H) 3 6 3   Bulgaria 3 3 4   Azerbaijan 3 0 Source: FIVB (H) Host

Pool B Pos Team Pld Pts 1   Germany 3 9 2   Turkey 3 5 3   Belgium 3 4 4   Croatia 3 0 Source: FIVB

Final four   Semi-finals Final                 11 January       Poland 2   12 January     Turkey 3     Turkey (Q) 3   11 January     Germany 0     Germany 3       Netherlands 0

North America

• The winners in final round will qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Qualified teams

Of the 35 NORCECA and IOC member associations, a total of 8 NORCECA member national teams entered the qualifying stage.

Qualification round – NORCECA Champions Cup Round robin   United States (H)   Dominican Republic   Puerto Rico   Canada

Qualification round – NORCECA Championship Pool A Pool B   Puerto Rico (H)   United States   Canada   Dominican Republic   Cuba   Mexico   Costa Rica   Trinidad and Tobago

Final round Round robin   Dominican Republic (H)   Canada   Puerto Rico   Mexico

Notes

• Teams in bold qualified for the next phase and final tournament.
• (H): Qualification group hosts

Qualification round

Main article: 2019 Women's NORCECA Volleyball Championship

The 2019 NORCECA Champions Cup champions and the top three teams from the 2019 NORCECA Championship which had not yet qualified to the 2020 Summer Olympics will compete in the North American Olympic Qualification Tournament.

Means of qualification

	Qualified for the North American Olympic Qualification Tournament
	Qualified for the North American Olympic Qualification Tournament playoffs

NORCECA Champions Cup – Round robin Pos Team Pld Pts 1   United States (H) 3 13 2   Dominican Republic (Q) 3 8 3   Canada 3 6 4   Puerto Rico 3 3 Source: NORCECA (H) Host; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.

NORCECA Championship – Pool A Pos Team Pld Pts 1   Puerto Rico (H, Q) 3 15 2   Canada 3 9 3   Cuba 3 6 4   Costa Rica 3 0 Source: NORCECA (H) Host; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.

NORCECA Championship – Pool B Pos Team Pld Pts 1   United States 3 15 2   Dominican Republic 3 10 3   Mexico 3 5 4   Trinidad and Tobago 3 0 Source: NORCECA

NORCECA Championship – Final round

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Final
					12 October
					Puerto Rico	2
	11 October
					Dominican Republic	3
	Dominican Republic	3
									13 October
	Cuba	0
									Dominican Republic	3
									United States	2
					12 October
					United States	3
	11 October
					Canada	0			3rd place match
	Canada (Q)	3
									13 October
	Mexico	1
									Puerto Rico	0
									Canada	3

	5th place match
	13 October
	Cuba	1
	Mexico (Q)	3

Final round

Main article: Volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's North American qualification

Of the 4 qualified teams, only winner of this round will be qualified to the 2020 Olympics.

Means of qualification

Qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games

Round robin

Pos	Team	Pld	Pts
1	Dominican Republic (H, Q)	3	12
2	Puerto Rico	3	8
3	Canada	3	7
4	Mexico	3	3

Source: FIVB
(H) Host. (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.

South America

• The winners in final round will qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Qualified teams

Of the 11 CSV and IOC member associations, a total of 8 CSV member national teams entered the qualifying stage

Qualification round Pool A Pool B   Brazil   Peru (H)   Argentina   Colombia   Venezuela   Bolivia   Ecuador   Uruguay

Final round Round robin   Colombia (H)   Argentina   Peru   Venezuela

Notes

• Teams in bold qualified for the next phase and final tournament.
• (H): Qualification group hosts

Qualification round

Main article: 2019 Women's South American Volleyball Championship

The top four teams from the 2019 South American Championship which had not yet qualified to the 2020 Olympic Games will compete in the South American Olympic Qualification Tournament.

Means of qualification

	Qualified for the South American Olympic Qualification Tournament
	Qualified for the South American Olympic Qualification Tournament playoffs

Pool A Pos Team Pld Pts 1   Brazil 3 9 2   Argentina (Q) 3 6 3   Venezuela 3 2 4   Ecuador 3 1 Source: CSV (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Pool B Pos Team Pld Pts 1   Colombia (Q) 3 8 2   Peru (Q) 3 7 3   Bolivia 3 3 4   Uruguay 3 0 Source: CSV (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

5th–8th Classification round

	5th–8th semifinals				5th place match
	31 Aug
	Venezuela	3
					1 Sept
	Uruguay	0
					Venezuela (Q)	3
	31 Aug
					Bolivia	0
	Bolivia	3
	Ecuador	0

Final round

Main article: Volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's South American qualification

Of the 4 qualified teams, only winner of this round will be qualified to the 2020 Olympics.

Means of qualification

Qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games

Round robin

Pos	Team	Pld	Pts
1	Argentina (Q)	3	9
2	Colombia (H)	3	6
3	Venezuela	3	3
4	Peru	3	0

Source: FIVB
(H) Host; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

References

1. "Qualification System – Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Tokyo 2020" (PDF). fivb.org. 23 September 2018.
2. "Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee". IOC. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
3. "Host city election for the Olympic Summer Games 2020". IOC . Retrieved 13 January 2020.
4. "Qualification System – Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Tokyo 2020" (PDF). fivb.org. 23 September 2018.
5. "Intercontinental Olympic qualification tournament hosts announced". fivb.org. 30 January 2019.
6. "Intercontinental Olympic qualification tournament pools confirmed". fivb.org. 8 January 2019.