Will Russian clubs return to CEV European tournaments from the 2027/28 season? The information has already started to spread in Poland, but the initial source so far remains the Italian Volleyball.it, which attributes it to words of the President of the Polish Volleyball Federation, Sebastian Świderski, to Polsat in Milan.
VolleyWeek sought the original source and checked Polsat Sport and leading Polish sports media. At the moment, we have not found a publication containing Świderski's statement in question, nor independent confirmation that CEV has already made a decision for the 2027/28 season.
However, this does not mean that the information from Volleyball.it is false. The developments known so far make such a scenario entirely possible. The big unknown is another – has a decision already been made that is yet to be officially announced, or has the procedure in CEV not yet been completed?
What Volleyball.it actually reported
The Italian Volleyball.it reported on September 26 that, according to Świderski's statement to Polsat, the European Volleyball Confederation has decided to open the door for the return of Russian clubs to European tournaments from the 2027/28 season.
However, there is an important nuance. In the text, the Italians use the phrase "la CEV avrebbe deciso" – a conditional construction that can be translated as "CEV would have decided" or "according to the information, CEV has decided." That is, the publication reports information that is not currently supported by a published decision of the European Confederation.
CEV has not yet publicly announced the return of Russian clubs to the Champions League, CEV Cup, and Challenge Cup from the 2027/28 season.
The news has already reached Poland
In the hours following the publication of Volleyball.it, the information began to spread on Polish social media. Posts appeared stating that Russian clubs would return to European tournaments from 2027/28, and some of them already claimed that the decision had been made during the CEV forum in Italy.
However, this so far represents the dissemination of information, not its independent confirmation.
During VolleyWeek's last check of Polsat Sport, WP SportoweFakty, Przegląd Sportowy, Sport.pl, Interia, and Siatka.org, we did not find any new journalistic material that reproduced Świderski's words in question or confirmed a CEV decision for the 2027/28 season from its own source.
This is noteworthy because the topic of Russia is followed extremely closely in Poland. Świderski himself has repeatedly commented on the return of Russian teams, and his statements on Polsat Sport during the current European Championship have also been quickly picked up by local media.
As early as July, the 2026/27 season was ruled out as a possibility
After the change in FIVB's position in the summer, Polish media contacted CEV precisely about the future of Russian clubs. The European Confederation then explained that participation in the 2026/27 season was no longer possible due to the expired registration deadline.
Thus, 2027/28 logically remains the first season in which a possible return could be realized.
However, here is the important boundary in the whole story: it is one thing for 2027/28 to be the first practically possible date, and quite another for a final decision to have already been made to admit Russian clubs.
It is the latter that has not yet been publicly announced by CEV.
Polish social media is already going one step further
It is indicative how quickly the initial information began to acquire additional details. In one of the publications circulating in Poland, it is now categorically claimed that the decision was made during the CEV forum in Italy and that Russian clubs are given one year to prepare for their return.
At the moment, VolleyWeek has not found a public announcement from CEV confirming these additional details. We also did not find a Polsat Sport publication containing Świderski's original statement.
Therefore, it is important to distinguish between the initial information from Volleyball.it, its subsequent dissemination on social networks, and what has actually been officially announced.
Meanwhile, a Russian club is already playing in Italy
Against this background, there is another curious event. The Russian Korabelka Saint Petersburg is participating this weekend in the international Sardegna Volleyball Challenge in Oristano.
Korabelka defeated the Serbian TENT Obrenovac 3:2 (25:20, 16:25, 25:17, 21:25, 15:11) in the semi-final and reached the final against Panathinaikos.
The Sardegna Volleyball Challenge is not a CEV competition, and Korabelka's participation cannot be used as proof of a change in the European Confederation's policy. However, it is another interesting sign of the gradual return of Russian clubs to the international stage.
After 2022, Russian clubs have already participated in international friendly tournaments in Serbia and outside Europe. Upon VolleyWeek's check, we have not yet found an earlier case after their exclusion in 2022 where a Russian volleyball club participated in an international tournament on the territory of an European Union country.
What we know and what we still don't know
Publicly available information outlines a clear sequence. In the summer, it became clear that Russian clubs would not be able to participate in European tournaments in 2026/27. Now, Volleyball.it reports, citing Sebastian Świderski, that the return will be from the 2027/28 season.
The news is already spreading in Poland, but at the time of VolleyWeek's last check, we still have not found the original statement by the PZPS president in Polsat Sport or independent confirmation from a leading Polish sports media outlet.
The most important thing is that CEV has not yet published a decision announcing the return of Russian clubs from the 2027/28 season. However, this does not automatically mean that such a decision has not been made or is not being prepared.
Therefore, the unknown is no longer whether such a scenario is possible. The question is whether the decision has already been made and its official announcement is pending, or whether the procedure in the European Confederation has not yet been completed.
The next official information from CEV should provide precisely this answer.
