After nearly two weeks of anticipation, the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) officially put an end to all speculation surrounding the participants in the Champions League for the 2026/27 season. The Bulgarian men's champion Levski Sofia will not receive a wild card for a direct spot in the group stage and will begin its participation from the qualification rounds.
As early as June 20VolleyWeek.bgwas the only one to directly contact CEV, after a graphic was published on the social media of Belgian Greenyard Maaseik, in which Levski was listed among the participants in the group stage. The information was widely spread by numerous European specialized media, but even then, the European Confederation was firm withVolleyWeek.bgthat such publications only fuel speculation and do not constitute official information.
CEV also clarified then that Bulgaria does not have a direct quota for the group stage, and under the current rules, Levski must start its participation from the qualifications unless it receives one of the three wild cards.
Today, this has been officially confirmed. The European Confederation announced that the three special invitations for direct participation in the men's group stage go to Italian Trentino, Spanish Guaguas Las Palmas, and Romanian Dinamo București.
Trentino is a three-time European champion (2009, 2010, and 2011), with its most recent triumph in the tournament being in 2024. Guaguas Las Palmas impressed by reaching the quarterfinals in 2024 and 2026, having started its participation from the qualifications in both cases. Dinamo București, on the other hand, is a three-time winner of the European Champions Cup with titles from 1966, 1967, and 1981.
Thus, Levski will not be among the teams that start directly in the group stage but will have to go through the qualification rounds to secure a place among the best clubs in Europe.
CEV President Rocco Sikič stated that the selection of wild card clubs was made with the aim of bringing together established volleyball powers and ambitious clubs from various European markets in the Champions League, thereby preserving the highest sporting and commercial level of the tournament.
In the women's competition, the two wild cards for direct participation in the Champions League group stage went to Igor Gorgonzola Novara (Italy) and Galatasaray Daikin Istanbul (Turkey). Novara won the tournament in 2019, while Galatasaray returns to the Champions League for the first time since 2018, having won the CEV Cup this season.
The full list of participants in all European club tournaments will be published additionally, and the draws for the Champions League, CEV Cup, and Challenge Cup will be held on July 15, when Levski will learn its first opponent on the way to the group stage of the most prestigious European club tournament.