The 2026 Men's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) promises to deliver one of its most intriguing editions yet. Besides significant rule changes, the tournament will bring together almost all the big stars of world volleyball, and after winning silver medals at the World Championship, Bulgaria enters the competition with huge expectations.

Which teams will participate in VNL 2026?

This year's edition of the tournament will feature 18 national teams:

• Argentina

• Belgium

• Brazil

• Bulgaria

• Canada

• China

• Cuba

• France

• Germany

• Iran

• Italy

• Japan

• Poland

• Serbia

• Slovenia

• Turkey

• Ukraine

• USA

Last season's champion is Poland, and the new participant in the tournament is Belgium, which took the place of the relegated Netherlands team.

The format remains unchanged

Each national team will play 12 matches in the main phase of the tournament.
After its conclusion, the top seven teams in the standings plus host China will qualify for the Final Eight in Ningbo.
It's noteworthy that China will host the final tournament for the second consecutive year, after Ningbo hosted the finals in 2025.
The last team in the final standings is relegated from the VNL, and its place will be taken by the highest-ranked team in the FIVB World Rankings that is not participating in the tournament.

VNL 2026 Calendar

First week A June 10-14

• Ottawa (Canada)

• Brazil (Brazil)

• Linyi (China)

Second week A June 24-28

• Orleans (France)

• Gliwice (Poland)

• Ljubljana (Slovenia)

Third week A July 15-19

• Belgrade (Serbia)

• Chicago (USA)

• Kansai (Japan)

Final tournament

• July 29 - August 2

• Ningbo (China)

Bulgaria's VNL 2026 Schedule (Bulgarian time)

First week – Brazil (Brazil)

The first week seems extremely important for Bulgaria's start in the VNL. Besides the direct clashes with Balkan rival Serbia and the traditionally difficult Argentina, the match against Roberto Piazza's Iran also generates great interest.

Second week – Ljubljana (Slovenia)

The second week in Ljubljana could be crucial for the battle for the Final Eight. The toughest test will be against world champions Italy, and hosts Slovenia traditionally play very strongly in front of their home crowd.

Third week A Chicago (USA)

The last week in Chicago offers an extremely tough schedule for the Bulgarian team. The "Lions" will face the reigning champion Poland, Olympic champion France, and host USA, which could prove decisive for the final standings before the finals in Ningbo.

Bulgaria is now among the contenders

After the historic World Championship final in 2025, Bulgaria enters the VNL with an extremely young, but already proven squad.
Just a year ago, the "Lions" started the Nations League with almost no one considering them among the favorites. During the tournament, however, Gianlorenzo Blengini's team became one of the pleasant surprises of VNL 2025 and fought for the Final Eight until the very end.
Ultimately, Bulgaria was just one win away from qualifying for the finals, but the defeat against Iran proved decisive for their elimination from the Top 8.
Now the situation is different. After the silver medals from the World Championship in the Philippines, the Bulgarian team now enters the tournament with a much higher status and far greater expectations.
All 14 volleyball players from the squad that won silver at the World Championship are returning for the new season.
The leaders of the team will once again be the Nikolov brothers – setter Simeon Nikolov and star Aleksandar Nikolov, who was the top scorer and was included in the World Championship's Ideal Team. The captain of the "Lions" will be middle blocker Alex Grozdanov, who was also selected for the "dream team" of the World Championship.

Meanwhile, Gianlorenzo Blengini has already announced Bulgaria's 30-player squad for VNL 2026.

Setters:

• Simeon Nikolov

• Lyuboslav Telkiyski

• Stoil Palev

• Viktor Zekov

• Anton Stanchev

Outside Hitters

• Aleksandar Nikolov

• Martin Atanasov

• Jasmin Velichkov

• Asparuh Asparuhov

• Denis Karyagin

• Georgi Tatarov

• Rusi Zhelev

• Denislav Bardarov

• Kristiyan Aleksov

Middle Blockers

• Iliya Petkov

• Boris Nachev

• Preslav Petkov

• Alex Grozdanov

• Ivaylo Damyanov

• Kiril Kolev

• Lazar Buchkov

Opposite Hitters

• Dimitar Dimitrov

• Hristiyan Dimitrov

• Venislav Antov

• Dimitar Peychinov

Libero:

• Dimitar Dobrev

• Damyan Kolev

• Yasen Petrov

• Kaloyan Botev

According to the VNL 2026 regulations, each team has the right to register 30 players for the entire tournament, but for each individual week, the coach can select a group of a maximum of 14 volleyball players.
Among FIVB's new test rules for the season is greater flexibility regarding the libero position. Teams will be able to play with one or two liberos, and the final choice will be made up to an hour before the start of the match.
Thus, for the first week of the tournament, Bulgaria departs with the following squad:
SettersSimeon NikolovandStoil Palev, oppositeVenislav Antov, outside hittersAleksandar Nikolov,Jasmin Velichkov,Martin Atanasov,Asparuh Asparuhov,Denislav Bardarov, centersAlex Grozdanov,Iliya Petkov,Boris NachevandPreslav Petkov, as well as the liberosDamyan Kolev and Rusi Zhelev.

Poland and Italy retain their championship cores

Defending champions Poland retain almost the entire squad that won the VNL in 2025. The selection again includes MVP Jakub Kochanowski, Wilfredo Leon and Kevin Sasak, and the big news is the return of captain Aleksander Sliwka, who took part in Poland's last match against Bulgaria at the "Silesia Cup" tournament.
World champion Italy also preserved its core. The inclusion of Alessandro Michieletto, who missed the final weeks of the season in SuperLega due to injury, has generated great interest. Daniele Lavia also returns to the squad.

Key absentees

Some of the most popular names in world volleyball will not participate in VNL 2026. Among them are:

• Bartosz Kurek (Poland)

• Bartosz Bednorz (Poland)

• Alan Souza (Brazil)

• Santiago Danani (Argentina)

• Earvin Ngapeth (France)

• Jenya Grebennikov (France)

• Jean Patry (France)

• Aaron Russell (USA)

• Thomas Jaeschke (USA)

• Johannes Tille (Germany)

The rejuvenation of France is particularly striking, as they will be without several of their key Olympic champions.
There is also an interesting situation in Iran. Roberto Piazza made the first serious cuts before the start of the tournament, and the biggest surprise is the absence of star opposite Amin Esmaeilnezhad from the squad for the first week of VNL in Brazil. Due to injury, Mateusz Bieniek will miss the season with the Polish national team. Mikolaj Sawicki also won't travel for the first week, also due to injury. Ukraine's first matches will be without star Oleh Plotnytskyi, who has administrative issues renewing his international passport.

The legends continue

41-year-old Georg Grozer will once again be Germany's leader, and Slovenian Alen Pajenk also remains among the veterans on the world stage.
The youngest competitor in the tournament will be 17-year-old Pole Jakub Przybyłkowicz. If Poland's talent had not been among the registered 30 volleyball players for VNL 2026, the youngest player in the tournament would have been Bulgarian libero Dimitar Dobrev, who is about 10 months older.

VNL 2026 will be a test for new rules

This year's Nations League will be used by FIVB as a testing platform for a series of rule changes.

More substitutions

The number of substitutions allowed in a set increases from 6 to 8.

Freer movement on reception

The receiving team will be able to leave their starting positions immediately upon the server's initial movement.

Play after hitting the ceiling

If the first or second touch hits the ceiling, but the ball remains on the same side of the court, play will continue.

Stricter criteria for held ball

FIVB will tighten the criteria for calling a held ball in attack. Referees will monitor much more strictly for "carrying," "pushing," and prolonged contact with the ball.
Only a short and clean placement without holding the ball will be allowed. This means that a light "tip" or "dink" will be permitted, but any "carrying" or holding during an attacking hit will be called significantly more strictly.

New rules for video replays

A "bookmark challenge" system will be introduced, where teams can mark a disputed moment during the rally and request a review after it ends.

Fewer interruptions

After a challenge is concluded, the team that used the video replay will not be immediately allowed to request a timeout.
This was already visibly tested during the "Silesia Cup" tournament, when Bulgaria requested a video review, and after its conclusion, head coach Gianlorenzo Blengini attempted to call a timeout, but he was not
allowed to do so due to the new test guidelines.

More freedom for coaches in communicating with referees

FIVB gives more freedom to head coaches in communicating with referees, as it will now be officially allowed to ask for clarification on disputed situations and video reviews, without this automatically being considered a protest or unsportsmanlike conduct.

Serious financial bonuses

The tournament's prize fund remains impressive:

• 1 million dollars for the champion

• 500,000 dollars for the finalist

• 300,000 dollars for third place

• 70,000 dollars for MVP

• 10,000 dollars for each player from the All-Star Team

The stars we will watch

Despite the absence of some big names, VNL 2026 will once again gather a huge part of the world's elite.

Among the stars of the tournament are:

• Wilfredo León (Poland)

• Alessandro Michieletto (Italy)

• Simone Giannelli (Italy)

• Matthew Anderson (USA)

• Erik Shoji (USA)

• Yuji Nishida (Japan)

• Yuki Ishikawa (Japan)

• Ran Takahashi (Japan)

• Luciano De Cecco (Argentina)

• Robertlandy Simón (Cuba)

• Georg Grozer (Germany)

• Sam Deroo and Ferre Reggers (Belgium)

• Marko Ivović (Serbia)

• Adis Lagumdzija (Turkey)

• Oleh Plotnytskyi (Ukraine)

The selections have already been officially announced, and everything is ready for the start of one of the strongest editions of the Volleyball Nations League.