The Bulgarian women's national team will play in the 2027 World Championship. The Bulgarians reached the round of 16 at EuroVolley 2026, and their place among the 32 teams at the World Cup comes thanks to their world ranking.
Bulgaria finishes the national team season in 29th place in the world ranking with 134.12 points. There are 14 quotas remaining for the World Championship, which are distributed by ranking among the highest-ranked teams that have not secured a spot otherwise. Bulgaria is among these 14 teams, thus securing its participation in the 2027 World Cup.
The World Championship will be held from August 20 to September 5, 2027, in the USA and Canada. Anaheim, Omaha, and Orlando have already been announced as host cities on the American side, while Canada has not yet named its cities.
The system for determining participants is clear. Out of a total of 32 teams, the USA and Canada have a spot as hosts, Italy as the reigning world champion, and three teams from each of the five continental championships receive another 15 quotas. Thus, 18 spots are filled outside of the world ranking. The remaining 14 are for the highest-ranked teams in the world ranking that have not received a quota through any of these methods. Bulgaria is among them.
Bulgaria is in regardless of the decision on Russia
The only question mark in finalizing the list is Russia. The Russian women's national team is No. 11 in the world ranking with 277.59 points, and if the ranking criterion is applied, it falls among the 14 teams that should get a spot at the World Championship.
FIVB has already confirmed the return of the Russian women's national team to the Nations League in 2027. However, there is still no final confirmation for the World Championship in the USA and Canada. The World Federation announced that it is continuing discussions with the local organizing committee, USA Volleyball, and Volleyball Canada regarding Russia's potential participation.
This unknown does not affect Bulgaria. If Russia participates, our national team is among the 32, and Romania remains below the line. If Russia does not participate, the next team by ranking gets a spot, and that is Romania. Bulgaria is above the line in both scenarios.
The 32 teams according to world ranking and secured quotas
| No. | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | World Champion |
| 2 | USA | Host |
| 3 | Canada | Host |
| 4 | Turkey | Europe |
| 5 | Poland | Europe |
| 6 | Serbia | Europe |
| 7 | Japan | Asia |
| 8 | China | Asia |
| 9 | Thailand | Asia |
| 10 | Cuba | NORCECA |
| 11 | Dominican Republic | NORCECA |
| 12 | Puerto Rico | NORCECA |
| 13 | Egypt | Africa |
| 14 | Kenya | Africa |
| 15 | Cameroon | Africa |
| 16 | Brazil | South America |
| 17 | Argentina | South America |
| 18 | Colombia | South America |
| 19 | Netherlands | By ranking |
| 20 | Russia* | By ranking |
| 21 | Germany | By ranking |
| 22 | Czech Republic | By ranking |
| 23 | Belgium | By ranking |
| 24 | France | By ranking |
| 25 | Slovenia | By ranking |
| 26 | Sweden | By ranking |
| 27 | Mexico | By ranking |
| 28 | Ukraine | By ranking |
| 29 | Greece | By ranking |
| 30 | Republic of Korea | By ranking |
| 31 | Bulgaria | By ranking |
| 32 | Switzerland | By ranking |
The numbering in the table is only for listing the 32 teams and does not represent their position in the world ranking. Bulgaria is one of 14 teams that qualify by ranking, with Switzerland remaining behind our team in this group. *Russia's participation in the World Championship has not yet been confirmed. If the Russian women's national team does not participate, Russia will be excluded from the list, and Romania – the next team to reach a quota by ranking – will enter the top 32. For Bulgaria, this changes nothing – our national team is in the World Championship under both scenarios.
photo: Nikolay Varadinov
