The Bulgarian men's national U20 team will start tomorrow its participation in the first qualification round for EuroVolley 2027. The tournament will be held from August 25 to 29 in the capital's Hristo Botev Hall, and head coach Ventsislav Simeonov has already announced the final squad of 14 volleyball players.
Bulgaria will face North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Belarus, and Russia, playing one match on each of the five days. The official CEV program places our national team in the last match of the tournament – against Russia on August 29 at 8:00 PM.
Bulgaria U20 squad:
Setters:Petko Petkov, Nikola Velikov
Opposites:Pavel Dzheneve, Aleksandar Manushev
Outside Hitters:Martin Tatarov, Yoan Kostadinov, Nikola Gradinarov, Daniel Tanev
Middle Blockers:Dimitar Peychinov, Evan Georgiev, Petar Gospodarski, Adrian Ganev
Liberos:Georgi Boychev, Ivaylo Donov

Dimitar Peychinov's case is interesting. He is nominally an opposite, but at the insistence of the men's national team coach Gianlorenzo Blengini, he began retraining as a middle blocker. Peychinov participated in the preparation of the representative team in Samokov before joining Ventsislav Simeonov's squad for the European qualification. For the U20 team, he is already listed among the middle blockers.
From the extended squad, Dimitar Dobrev, Petar Antonov, Antoine Veselinov, Kristiyan Kosev, Martin Totkov, Nikolay Mihovski, and Filip Marinski were left out of the final 14.
Among those who dropped out are Kristiyan Kosev and Antoine Veselinov, who were part of the group of seven bronze medalists from EuroVolley U18 who joined the U20 for the final part of the preparation. The other five from this group – Ivaylo Donov, Pavel Dzheneve, Adrian Ganev, Nikola Gradinarov, and Nikola Velikov – found a place among Simeonov's chosen players.
Bulgaria's schedule:
August 25, 5:30 PM: Bulgaria – North Macedonia
August 26, 5:30 PM: Bulgaria – Serbia
August 27, 5:30 PM: Turkey – Bulgaria
August 28, 5:30 PM: Bulgaria – Belarus
August 29, 8:00 PM: Russia – Bulgaria
The tournament in Sofia is the first opportunity for direct qualification for EuroVolley U20 in 2027. The final phase for men will be held in Croatia and Montenegro with the participation of 16 teams.
The presence of Russia and Belarus makes the quota calculations different. Following a decision by the CEV Administrative Board on May 16, 2026, Russia and Belarus have been moved outside the EEVZA zone for qualification purposes, and a special rule has been introduced for the BVA tournament. If Russia or Belarus wins the competition in Sofia, both the winner and the best-placed BVA team will directly qualify for EuroVolley 2027.
If our national team finishes as the highest-ranked among the four Balkan teams – Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey, and North Macedonia – they will also receive a direct quota for the European Championship.
However, if the tournament is won by one of the four BVA teams, the winner will take the direct quota. For those who do not qualify directly, the opportunity remains to continue the battle for a spot at EuroVolley 2027 in the second qualification round. For the U20 men of BVA, five spots have been allocated for this phase.
Thus, Bulgaria begins the five-day battle in Sofia with the clear goal of using the very first opportunity to secure a place among the 16 teams at EuroVolley U20 next summer. Bulgaria's matches will be broadcast live on MAX Sport channels, as well as online on YouTube.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov