The Bulgarian national volleyball team ranks 17th in Forbes Bulgaria's Top 70 ranking, which measures "fame" not only as popularity, but as a combination of achievements, media visibility, revenue, and business activity in the period December 2024 – December 2025.
The team's profile highlights that the historic World Championship final and the silver medal have turned the national players into "national heroes", and the subsequent wave of interest has also led to stronger pressure from sponsors for presence on the team's kits.
How Forbes Ranks the Top 70
The methodology is based on an in-depth study of:
achievements and public appearances during the year
participation in business ventures/companies
publicly available revenue information (mainly the last declared year and/or data for 2025, when available)
The criteria are evaluated on a scale, and achievements, popularity, revenue, and business have different weight in the final result.
Where volleyball stands in the ranking's "zone" (No. 16–19)
| Position | Name | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Vladimir Ampov – Grafa | Musician |
| 17 | National Volleyball Team | Athletes |
| 18 | Silvena Rowe | Chef |
| 19 | Azis | Musician |
No. 17 places volleyball in the company of names who, by definition, work in industries with constant visibility (television, music, lifestyle). This indicates that the team has moved out of its sports niche and into the mainstream agenda.
Here are only the athletes in this ranking "," to demonstrate the "weight" of the team
| Position | Name | Category (in the ranking) | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Hristo Stoichkov | Athlete | Individual brand |
| 5 | Grigor Dimitrov | Athlete | Individual brand |
| 11 | Aleksandar Vezenkov | Athlete | Individual brand |
| 12 | Carlos Nassar | Athlete | Individual brand |
| 17 | National Volleyball Team | Athletes | Collective brand (sole team) |
| 24 | Kiril Despodov | Athlete | Individual brand |
| 39 | Nikola Tsolov | Athlete | Individual brand |
| 45 | Albert Popov | Athlete | Individual brand |
| 53 | Dimitar Berbatov | Athlete | Individual brand |
| 57 | Ivet Lalova | Athlete | Individual brand |
| 61 | Kubrat Pulev | Athlete | Individual brand |
| 68 | Ilia Gruev | Athlete | Individual brand |
| 70 | Ivan Ivanov | Athlete | Individual brand |
In the ranking, there are 13 athletes, but volleyball is the only team – all others are individual figures who traditionally monetize their popularity more easily through personal contracts and campaigns. In this context, #17 is a strong "market" position for a collective, because the team ranks above a number of established individual brands (#24, #39, #45, #53, #57, #61, #68, #70) and below only the most popular and commercially consolidated names in sports (#2, #5, #11, #12). The conclusion is clear: the team's weight is no longer solely based on sports results, but on the scale of public attention that can be converted into partnerships.
What does #17 mean for the team?
This position is an argument that volleyball hasa ready audience and measurable influence, and the next step is for this attention to be retained and translated into sustainable sponsorship and communication assets, rather than remaining a single peak after a major tournament.
photo: Nikolay Varadinov
