After the draw for the European club tournaments of CEV held on Wednesday in Luxembourg, Bulgarian volleyball players competing in foreign clubs learned their first opponents for the 2026/27 season. Five of them will play in the group stage of the Champions League, six will participate in the CEV Cup, and six will compete in the Challenge Cup.
Champions League
At first glance, the draw seems the toughest for the brothersAleksandar and Simeon NikolovTheir Lube Civitanova landed in Group D along with Projekt Warsaw (Poland), Maaseik (Belgium), and Trentino, which received one of the three "wild cards" for direct participation in the group stage of the tournament.
Alex Grozdanovand Challenge Cup winner Bogdanka LUK Lublin will play in Group E against Verona (Italy), Tours VB (France) and the winner of one of the qualifying pairs.
Nikolay Kolevand Panathinaikos landed in Group A with Berlin (Germany), Galatasaray (Turkey) and a qualifier winner.
For womenIva Dudovaand Eczacıbaşı Dynavit will face Scandicci (Italy), Tent Obrenovac (Serbia) and a qualifier winner.
CEV Cup
Matey KaziyskiandDenislav Bardarovwill start their participation with Halkbank (Ankara) from the 1/16 finals against the winner of the pair Pärnu (Estonia) – Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia).
Mario Petkovand Milon (Athens) will meet French Poitiers right at the start.
Petya BarakovaandGergana Kyosevawith Dinamo (Bucharest) will play against the loser from the second qualifying round of the Champions League, whileElitsa Atanasijevicand Panionios (Nea Smyrni) rest in the first round and start directly from the next phase.
Challenge Cup
Martin Atanasovand Olympiacos will meet the winner of the pair Aich/Dob (Austria) – Nordenskov (Denmark).
Asparuh Asparuhovand Ślepsk Malow Suwałki await the winner between the Finnish Akaa Volley and AC Oulu.
Venislav Antovand Tourcoing will play against the winner of Takovo Gornji Milanovac (Serbia) – Robežsardze/Riga (Latvia).
Preslav Petkovand Düren will also await the winner of the pair Pärnu – Slovan Bratislava.
Kristina Yordanovaand UTE (Budapest) are the only Bulgarian with a completely clear opponent already in the first round – Swiss Kanti Schaffhausen. If successful, the Hungarian team will meet the winner of the pair BiVi FM Franches-Montagnes (Switzerland) – OK Ort Novo Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
Darina Nanevaand French Virtus Le Cannet will start their participation in the Challenge Cup from the 1/32 finals against the winner of the pair Sudosa/Dassen (Netherlands) – CS GYM Volley Luxembourg (Luxembourg).
Besides Bulgarian volleyball players in foreign clubs, our country will also be represented in European club tournaments by six teams – Levski Sofia (men) and Maritsa Plovdiv (women) in the Champions League, Neftochimic 2010 in the CEV Cup, as well as Lokomotiv Avia, CSKA, and Levski Sofia (women) in the Challenge Cup. Levski and Maritsa have guaranteed participation in CEV tournaments, as even if eliminated in the Champions League qualifiers, they will continue their participation in the CEV Cup and Challenge Cup, respectively. This means that in the 2026/27 season as well, Bulgaria will have one of its most significant representations on the European club scene in recent years.

photo:cev.eu