The news was announced by the president of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation, Lyubomir Ganev, during a press conference dedicated to the signing of a memorandum of cooperation with the Greek volleyball community.
The tournament will be heldfrom May 20 to 24, 2028, at the capital's "Arena 8888 Sofia", with Bulgaria hosting the second of three tournaments in the preliminary phase of the prestigious competition.
Ganev revealed that the procedure has been finally completed and on November 9, the federation received the signed contract from Volleyball World and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).
"Today we finally signed the contract for the Volleyball Nations League in 2028. We will host a tournament that will be in Sofia. I can say it officially, as today we received the signed contract from Volleyball World as well," Ganev stated.
The hosting is of particular importance due to the Olympic nature of the 2028 season. Because of the Los Angeles Games, the Nations League calendar will be moved up, with the entire competition expected to conclude by June.
According to Ganev's explanation, after the third tournament, the last three teams that will receive Olympic quotas through ranking will also be determined, if they have not secured participation before that.
The President of the BFV also revealed the financial parameters of the hosting. The organizational fee for the 2028 tournament will be350,000 dollars, while for analogous tournaments in 2025 and 2027, it was 250,000 dollars. This represents a 40 percent increase.
Despite the rising costs, the federation continues to pursue hosting major international competitions. Ganev announced that Bulgaria has already inquired about organizing the finals of the Volleyball Nations League in 2029, for which the fee would be between 1.5 and 2 million dollars.
With the confirmed hosting in 2028, Sofia will have the opportunity to once again welcome part of the world's volleyball elite in a season where every match will have additional weight due to the upcoming Olympic Games.
photo: Nikolay Varadinov
