Volleyball World and the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) have made an extremely serious bet on the future, having extended their exclusive commercial partnership all the way to 2052.
Yes, the year is correct – 2052! This was announced on the official FIVB website.
The news was announced during the 26th AVC General Assembly in Bangkok, Thailand, and became one of the most intriguing highlights of the forum. With the new agreement, Volleyball World will continue to be the exclusive commercial partner of the Asian confederation in one of the longest-term partnerships in volleyball.
And if the year 2052 seems almost fantastically distant today, behind the decision are numbers that explain why Asia is so important for the future of world volleyball.
Asia holds 52% of the global volleyball audience
According to data presented at the General Assembly, approximately 52% of the global volleyball fan base is located in Asia.
This makes the continent a key territory for FIVB's long-term strategy. The World Federation's ambition through its Strategic Vision 2032 is to increase the number of people involved with volleyball from approximately 800 million to 1.6 billion.
FIVB President Fabio Azevedo even described Asia as the "land of volleyball," emphasizing the enormous opportunity for the sport to continue its development on the continent.
It is in this context that a contract until 2052 no longer seems merely a curiously distant horizon. It shows how seriously Volleyball World and FIVB view the Asian market.
Around 15 million dollars have already been invested in Asia
Development is not limited to marketing and television rights.
Data presented by Hitesh Malhotra, Head of Volleyball Empowerment and National Federations Relations at FIVB, shows the scale of investments in the region.
94% of the 65 national federations that are members of the AVC have already received support through the Volleyball Empowerment program.
A total of 454 projects have been approved in Asia – 200 coaching support projects, 175 volleyball equipment projects, 74 knowledge transfer programs, and 5 International Centers of Excellence projects.
The investment through Volleyball Empowerment amounts to approximately 15 million dollars.
The results are gradually beginning to be seen on the court as well.
At the AVC continental championships for men and women, 8 out of the 12 participating national federations had received support from the program.
In beach volleyball, the ratio is even more impressive – supported federations represent 34 out of 47 men's teams and 26 out of 35 women's teams at the continental championships.
From 14 to 40 countries in the world rankings
One of the most indicative indicators of the expansion of volleyball in Asia comes from the FIVB world rankings.
As of January 2025, the number of AVC federations represented in the men's world ranking has increased from 14 to 40.
For women, the growth is from 14 to 30 federations.
This means not just more teams, but an expansion of international activity in countries that until recently had a significantly more limited presence on the world stage.
Why exactly 2052?
This is precisely the most interesting question.
In professional sports, contracts are usually measured in a few years. Even long-term commercial agreements rarely reach a horizon of several decades.
Volleyball World and AVC, however, are looking as far as 2052.
This is more than a contract for the next Olympic cycle or for the next generation of national teams. It is about a strategic commitment that should ensure predictability in the development of commercial rights, competitions, and the overall volleyball product in Asia.
For AVC, this means an opportunity for national federations to plan their development much more long-term.
For Volleyball World, the stake is also clear – the organization guarantees itself a key position on the continent, which already hosts more than half of the world's volleyball audience.
2052 sounds far away. But the message is for today.
By 2052, volleyball will certainly look different. There will be generations of athletes who are not yet born today. Formats, technologies, the way fans watch matches, and probably the very structure of the international calendar will change.
Volleyball World and AVC, however, have already set the framework for their partnership for this period.
And perhaps this is the strongest message from Bangkok.
No, there is no mistake – the contract is indeed until 2052.
And when one of the most important commercial structures in world volleyball is ready to commit to Asia for more than a quarter of a century ahead, that speaks clearly enough about where one of the major centers of the volleyball industry is expected to be in the coming decades.
