Bulgaria has been officially announced as one of the hosts for the 2025 Volleyball Nations League (VNL), the federation announced.
Today, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) published the schedule by dates, cities, and countries, as well as the preliminary team breakdown. The exact match schedule will be announced later, and according to the regulations, each team plays four matches in each individual week.
Our country has been honored to organize and host one of the most exciting and attractive tournaments for national teams, and the location will be a debut for the competition. The city of Burgas and "Arena Burgas" will host the men's second week tournament for the first time. This will take place between June 25 and 29.
Tickets for all tournaments were released for sale coordinately today at 13:00 and are now available for purchase. Tickets for the matches in Burgas can be found on the Eventim network.
Olympic champion France will arrive in the Black Sea city. The other teams are Slovenia, Ukraine, Turkey, and Japan (Bulgaria will play against four of these five teams). The tournament will be an official debut on home soil for coach Gianlorenzo Blengini. The Italian specialist has already led the team in this year's Nations League and recorded three victories.
"It is an exceptional privilege for Bulgaria to host the Nations League again," commented Lyubomir Ganev, president of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation. "The choice of Burgas is another proof that we are valued worldwide as a serious organizer of top-level tournaments. I am sure that the new hall will perform wonderfully. Guests of Burgas will be more than satisfied, and we will be hospitable hosts. I wish success to our teams in the Nations League. We are on the right track."
France will be in our group in all three tournaments this summer. The "Tricolors" will start their participation on June 11 in Quebec (Canada). The group there also includes the hosts, Italy, France, Germany, and Argentina. The third tournament with Bulgaria is in Gdansk (Poland), where the hosts, Iran, France, Cuba, and China are also present.
The finals of the Men's Volleyball Nations League in 2025 will be held between July 30 and August 3, and the host has not yet been determined.
The Bulgarian women's national team will also start its participation in the 2025 Volleyball Nations League from Canada, similar to the men. In none of the three tournaments will our team play on European soil.
Antonina Zetova's official debut as our women's coach will be in Ottawa. Besides the Canadians, the first group also includes Japan, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, and Serbia. The matches are scheduled for June 4-8.
The second group is in Hong Kong (June 18-22) with Italy, Thailand, China, Czech Republic, and Japan. The third tournament with Bulgarian participation is in the Japanese city of Kanto (July 9-13). The hosts, Brazil, France, Poland, and South Korea are also there.
The finals are between July 23 and 27, and here too, the host is yet to be chosen," the federation wrote.
