The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) announced today all the countries that will participate in the Men's and Women's World Championships in 2025. Bulgaria is among them. Our country will have representatives in both championships, qualifying directly by virtue of their position in the world ranking (19th for men and 20th for women).
The FIVB changed the format of the World Championships, increasing the number of teams from 24 to 32. Also, the championships will now be held every 2 years, instead of 4. The headquarters entrusted the hosting of these tournaments for the first time to the Philippines and Thailand.
The Men's World Championship will be held from September 12 to 28 in the Philippines. Our national team will learn their opponents on September 14, when the draw will take place in Manila (14:30 – our time). It will be broadcast live and free on VBTV and the Volleyball World YouTube channel.
According to the new regulations for this championship, the Philippines (as host) and Italy (current champion) qualified directly. As part of the new qualification system, 15 quotas were distributed during the Continental Championships in 2023, with Egypt, Algeria, and Libya selected from Africa; Japan, Iran, and Qatar qualifying from the Asian zone; Poland, Slovenia, and France taking European spots; USA, Canada, and Cuba joining from the North American Volleyball Confederation region; and Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia representing South America.
The remaining 15 spots were allocated to the best national teams in the FIVB world ranking as of August 30, 2024, who had not yet qualified - Germany, Serbia, Netherlands, Ukraine, Belgium, Turkey, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Portugal, Finland, Tunisia, China, Romania, Chile, and Korea.
The system for allocating places for the Women's World Championship is analogous. The championship will be held in Thailand, but dates have not yet been announced, nor is it clear when the draw will take place. Here, host Thailand and Serbia, as champion, qualify directly. From the Continental Championships, Kenya, Egypt, and Cameroon (Africa); China, Japan, and Vietnam (Asia); Turkey, Netherlands, and Italy (Europe); Dominican Republic, USA, and Canada (North American Volleyball Confederation); and Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia (South America) are included. By ranking, the remaining 15 spots are filled by Poland, Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Puerto Rico, Ukraine, France, Bulgaria, Cuba, Sweden, Mexico, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, and Greece.
Thus, in 2025, 43 different countries will be represented at the World Championship under the auspices of the FIVB - 6 from Africa, 8 from Asia, 19 from Europe, 6 from the North American Volleyball Confederation region, and 4 from South America.
