The European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) clarified yesterday's information that Levski Sofia might be among the direct participants in the men's Champions League group stage for the 2026/27 season.
The reason for the inquiry byVolleyWeek.bgwas a post by the Belgian club Greenyard Maaseik on social media. It showed 19 teams, presented as future participants in the group stage of the most prestigious European club tournament. Among them was the Bulgarian champion Levski Sofia.
The post generated significant interest and was covered by authoritative European specialized media, which assumed that the Belgian club had prematurely revealed the list of participants in the competition.
However, following an official inquiry byVolleyWeek.bgCEV emphasized that such interpretations are premature.
"At this stage, such content only fuels speculation," stated the European Volleyball Confederation.
The headquarters reminded that the club registration process concluded on June 15, and currently, documents of all candidates for participation in the Champions League, CEV Cup, and Challenge Cup are being processed.
The official list of participants has not yet been published and will be announced later this month via the relevant official communication. At that time, the distribution of potential wild cards for the Champions League group stage will also become clear.
CEV emphasized that Bulgaria does not have a direct spot in the group stage according to the European ranking, and under standard procedure, Levski Sofia would have to start its participation from the qualification rounds.
At the same time, the European Confederation did not comment on whether the Bulgarian champion is among the candidates for a potential wild card.
In the official response toVolleyWeek.bgit was further stated that the graphic circulated by Greenyard Maaseik included 19 clubs, while the tournament format provides for a total of 20 teams in the group stage " 15 teams that qualified based on the European ranking, up to three clubs with wild cards, and two teams that advanced through the qualification rounds.
"This graphic represents only speculation and does not reflect the current provisions according to official regulations," CEV emphasized.
Currently, there is no official confirmation regarding either the final composition of the group stage or the distribution of wild card spots. For this reason, the presence of Levski Sofia in the graphic published by the Belgian club cannot be considered proof of the Bulgarian champion's direct participation in the main draw of the tournament.
The final list of participants in the three European club tournaments is expected to be published by CEV later this month.
VolleyWeek.bgwill continue to monitor the development of the topic and will inform its readers immediately after the announcement of the official decision of the European Volleyball Confederation.