The final composition of the Premier League for the 2026/2027 season is already clear, after all 13 clubs eligible to participate have submitted the necessary documents to the National Volleyball League – Men.
The new championship in the second tier of Bulgarian volleyball will start on October 30 – a week after the beginning of the WINBET Super Volley championship.
The competition will feature "Dobrudzha 07" (Dobrich), "Etropole", "Minior" (Pernik), "Rakovski 1964" (Sevlievo), "Rodopa" (Smolyan), "Botev" (Lukovit), "Grad" (Belogradchik), VASK (Sofia), "Sofia University", "Chernomorets Byala", "Izgrev" (Yablanitsa), "Zvezdets" (Gorna Malina) and the newcomer "Levski 2005" (Karlovo), who secured promotion from the third level of Bulgarian volleyball.
The NVL is yet to announce the date for the draw, which will determine the schedule for the new season.
For now, no changes are planned for the championship format, as the current regulations are considered successful and will be retained. In parallel, however, the league is working on several projects aimed at modernizing the championship.
Among the innovations under discussion are incentives for clubs that give more playing time to young volleyball players, expansion of digitalization through electronic registrations, and the introduction of statistical processing for all matches in the championship. Plans also include strengthening media coverage of the Premier League.
The NVL management clarifies that before the final introduction of these changes, discussions will be held with the clubs to assess their readiness for the new requirements and the organization of the championship. Thus, more clarity regarding the upcoming novelties is expected before the start of the season.