The Nations League is already history, but big international women's volleyball continues almost without a break. On August 21, attention turns to the continental championships, with the European, Asian, and NORCECA championships starting on the same day.

For Bulgarian fans, the greatest interest is naturally in EuroVolley 2026, where our national team begins its participation on Friday against Ukraine. Simultaneously, in Tianjin and Santo Domingo, the battles for continental honors in Asia and North and Central America and the Caribbean region will begin.
The stakes in 2026 are much higher than continental titles. The continental championships are the first opportunity for national teams to qualify for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 in the current Olympic cycle. One quota will be allocated in each of the five continental confederations, for a total of five spots for women. The USA already has guaranteed participation in the Olympics as the host.
At the same time, the three highest-ranked teams eligible for a quota from each continental championship will qualify for the 2027 World Championship. Thus, the continental championships will determine a total of 15 of the participants in the 32-team World Cup. For women, three spots are already taken – the USA and Canada qualify directly as hosts, and Italy has guaranteed participation as the reigning world champion. This means that if any of these three teams finishes in a position that grants a quota at the respective continental championship, the spot will pass to the next highest-ranked team eligible to participate. The remaining spots for the 2027 World Championship, after the allocation of direct and continental quotas, will be filled according to the FIVB world ranking at the end of the national team season in 2026. Therefore, the results of the upcoming continental championships have double value – besides determining direct participants in the World Cup, each match also brings points for the world ranking.
EuroVolley 2026 for women will take place from August 21 to September 6. Turkey, Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, and Sweden are the hosts, and 24 national teams are divided into four groups of six. Istanbul, Brno, Baku, and Gothenburg are the four host cities, with the final phase of the championship to be held in Istanbul.
Group A – Istanbul, Turkey:Turkey, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Slovenia
Group B – Brno, Czech Republic:Czech Republic, Austria,Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Ukraine
Group C – Baku, Azerbaijan:Azerbaijan, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain
Group D – Gothenburg, Sweden:Sweden, Croatia, France, Italy, Montenegro, Slovakia
The top four teams from each group advance to the Round of 16. Bulgaria will play all its first-phase matches in Brno, with our national team placed in the company of Serbia, host Czech Republic, Ukraine, Greece, and Austria.
Bulgaria starts against Ukraine on August 21, then will successively meet Greece, Serbia, Austria, and the Czech Republic. In a format where four out of six teams advance, the first task for our national team is a spot in the Round of 16.
The European champion will receive a direct quota for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. EuroVolley will also allocate three new spots for the 2027 World Championship. Since Italy is already a confirmed participant in the World Cup as the reigning world champion, its potential presence among the top three will not reduce the number of quotas allocated through EuroVolley – they will go to the three highest-ranked European teams that do not yet have a spot in the World Championship.
On August 21, the Asian Women's Championship also begins. The tournament will run until August 30 in Tianjin, China, with 12 national teams competing for the continental title and spots in the next major international competitions. The Asian champion will receive a direct Olympic quota for Los Angeles 2028, and three teams will secure participation in the 2027 World Championship.

Group A:China, Chinese Taipei, Iran, Iraq
Group B:Thailand, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Australia
Group C:Japan, Vietnam, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong (China)
Among the main contenders are hosts China, Japan, and the reigning Asian champions Thailand. In its official preview, FIVB also lists Vietnam among the leading participants.
The third major women's tournament, starting on August 21, is the NORCECA Championship in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Eight national teams are participating in the competition.
Group A:USA, Canada, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago
Group B:Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Costa Rica
In NORCECA, the format is different. First, the teams will determine the continental champion and the three highest-ranked teams with a quota for the 2027 World Championship. There is another peculiarity here – the USA and Canada already have spots at the World Championship as hosts, and therefore cannot occupy any of the three new quotas distributed through the continental championship.
The USA fully participates in the NORCECA Championship and can compete for the continental title, even though they already have an Olympic quota as hosts of Los Angeles 2028. However, after the championship concludes, when determining participants for the separate Olympic qualification, the Americans are excluded. The four highest-ranked teams without the USA will proceed to a separate phase with semifinals and a final, and the winner will receive NORCECA's Olympic quota for Los Angeles 2028. This is precisely why FIVB specifies the entire period of the women's NORCECA competition from August 21 to 29.
The three championships also mean a huge amount of live volleyball for fans. For EuroVolley, the picture for Bulgarian viewers is already clear. Matches from the European Championship will be broadcast by bTV Media Group and A1. bTV Action, RING, and VOYO will offer selected matches, while A1 channels will have their selection of matches from the group and elimination phases. Bulgarians outside the country can watch the matches on eurovolley.tv.
bTV Media Group officially confirmed Bulgaria's first three matches. The match against Ukraine on August 21 at 6:00 PM, the match against Greece on August 23 at 5:00 PM, and the match against Serbia on August 24 at 8:00 PM will be broadcast live on bTV Action and online on VOYO.
Bulgaria's last two group stage matches are in A1's television package. The matches against Austria on August 26 and the Czech Republic on August 27 will be shown on MAX One.
Thus, the full schedule for Bulgaria's five matches in Group B is as follows:

The schedule is demanding for Bulgaria, mainly due to the three matches within the first four days. After the matches with Ukraine and Greece comes the clash with Serbia, and after a day of rest, Austria and the host Czech Republic follow consecutively. With four spots for the round of 16, the matches against direct competitors for qualification to the Top 4 will be particularly important. The official CEV calendar confirms the dates of the five matches. If Bulgaria overcomes the group stage, television coverage will become even wider. If our national team qualifies for the eliminations, its matches will be broadcast simultaneously on bTV Media Group and A1 channels. The remaining round of 16 matches from August 30 to September 1 and the quarterfinals on September 2 and 3 will be distributed between the two media groups. The semifinals on September 5 and the final on September 6 will be broadcast in parallel. Thus, from August 21, international volleyball once again takes center stage. Europe, Asia, and NORCECA start simultaneously, and the stakes are no longer just continental prestige. The allocation of Olympic quotas for Los Angeles 2028, 15 spots for the 2027 World Championship, and valuable points for the world ranking begins. For Bulgaria, everything starts in Brno against Ukraine, and just a week later we will know if our national team continues to the eliminations of EuroVolley 2026.