FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League
Most recent season or competition:
2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League
VNL logo
SportVolleyball
Founded2017 (2017)
Inaugural season2018
CEOAry Graça
No. of teams16
ContinentInternational (FIVB)
Most recent
champion(s)		 Turkey
(1st title)
Most titles United States
(3 titles)
Streaming partner(s)Volleyball TV
Relegation toChallenger Cup
Official websiteVolleyball Nations League

The FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League is an international volleyball competition[1] contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The first tournament took place between May and July 2018, with the final taking place in Nanjing, China. United States won the inaugural edition, defeating Turkey in the final.

In July 2018, the FIVB announced that China would host the next three editions of the women's Volleyball Nations League Finals, from 2019–2021‌, but on March 13, 2020 the FIVB decided to postpone the Nations League until after the 2020 Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Finally, the FIVB canceled the 2020 edition and confirmed Italy as the host of the final stage of the 2021 VNL.

The creation of the tournament was announced in October 2017 (alongside with the announcement of the Challenger Cup) as a joint project between the FIVB, the IMG and 21 national federations.[3] The Nations League replaced the World Grand Prix, a former annual women's international event that ran between 1993 and 2017.

A corresponding tournament for men's national teams is the FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League.

History

Adoption

In June 2017, Argentinian website Voley Plus reported that the FIVB would drastically change the format for both the 2018 World League and World Grand Prix. According to the reports, starting from 2018, the World League and the World Grand Prix would have only one Group (no more Groups 1, 2 and 3) of 16 national teams.[4][5]

In October 2017, the FIVB announced, via a press release, the creation of the men's and women's Volleyball Nations League, confirming the tournaments as a replacement for the World League and World Grand Prix.[3]

Marketing

The International Volleyball Federation has partnered with global brand strategy and design firm Landor Associates to create the Volleyball Nations League branding. Landor has also contributed with in-stadium and on-screen television graphics, staff uniforms, designs for the World Volleyball app, medals and the winning trophy.[6][7]

Digital

Microsoft, the multinational technology company, has signed an agreement with the FIVB that the international federation vows will change the way the sport of volleyball is consumed while heightening the fan experience during match days as well as in the digital space.[8] Under the tie-up, the ‘Microsoft Sports Digital Platform’ has been created to create new digital services and deliver personalised content on demand in order to boost the FIVB global audience and improve fan engagement.[9]

Prize money

According to the FIVB, the prize money is equal for both the men's and women's VNL as per the FIVB's gender equality policy.

Team awards

At the preliminary round, the winning team is awarded US$9,500 for every win and the losing team is awarded US$4,250.[10]

Prize money allocated to teams based on their final place in the final round:

  • Champions: US$1,000,000
  • Runners-up: US$500,000
  • 3rd place: US$300,000
  • 4th place: US$180,000
  • 5th place: US$130,000
  • 6th place: US$85,000
  • 7th place: US$65,000
  • 8th place: US$40,000

Fair Play Award: Admissions by athletes before the Challenge is thrown will be evaluated to avoid time wasting, a green card will be awarded in this case. The team with the most green cards will receive a cash prize of $30,000. In case of a tie, the best-ranked team will be awarded.

Individual awards

The players selected into Dream Team will receive US$10,000 each while the MVP will be given US$30,000.[11]

Market performance

The FIVB announced that the 2019 Volleyball Nations League (both men's and women's) attracted a cumulative global audience of more than 1.5 billion. This number was an increase of 200 million from the 2018 VNL. In total, more than 600,000 tickets were sold in the 2019 VNL.[12]

Format

Previous format

As in the former World Grand Prix, the competition will be divided in two phases, albeit with changes in the competition formula: a preliminary round (known as preliminary round), with a system of rotating host cities, and a final round played in a pre-selected host city.

The preliminary round is held over five weeks, versus three in the World Grand Prix. Each week, the participating teams are organized in pools, and each team plays one match against all other teams in its pool. All games in a pool take place over a weekend in the same city.

When all matches of the preliminary round have been played, the top five teams in the overall standings qualify for the final round, and the remaining ones leave the competition. The host nation automatically qualifies for the final round.[13]

16 national teams will compete in the inaugural edition of the tournament; 12 core teams, which are always qualified, and 4 challenger teams, which can face relegation.[13]

  • Preliminary round

The 16 teams compete in round-robin tournament, with every core team hosting a pool al least once. The teams are divided into 4 pools of 4 teams in each week and compete five weeks long, with a total of 120 matches. The top five teams after the round-robin tournament join the hosts in the final round.[13] The relegation will consider the four challenger teams and the last ranked challenger team will be excluded from next edition. The winners of the Challenger Cup would qualify for next edition as a challenger team.[14][15]

  • Final round

The six qualified teams play in 2 pools of 3 teams in a round-robin format. The top 2 teams of each pool qualify for the semifinals. The first ranked teams play against the second ranked teams in this round. The winners of the semifinals advance to compete for the Nations League title.[13]

New format

The new format is applied to 2022 edition. The whole competition still be divided into two phases: The pool phase and the Finals.[16]

  • Pool phase

The 16 teams will be divided into 2 groups of eight. Each team will play with 12 matches during the three weeks of the preliminary round. Two pools of eight teams will compete in four matches of six days of competition (Tuesday – Sunday). The new competition format allows for a one-week gap between events. The total number of matches in the pool phase will be 96.

  • The finals

The Finals will see the eight strongest teams moving directly to the knockout phase which will consist of eight matches in total: four quarterfinals, two semi-finals and the bronze and gold medal matches. The total number of matches in the final phase will be 8.

Challenger Cup

The FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup will be a competition for national teams which will run in concurrence with the Volleyball Nations League. The Challenger Cup will consist of teams not participating in the current edition of the Volleyball Nations League and will feature one host team and five teams from the five continental confederations as follows:[14]

Confederation Slots
AVC (Asia)1
CAVB (Africa)1
CSV (South America)1
CEV (Europe)2
NORCECA (North America)1
Total8(6+H+VNL)

The Continental Confederations, responsible for determining the teams that will qualify for the FIVB Challenger Cup, are free to organise their Continental Qualification Tournament or use an existing competition to define the qualified team(s).

The FIVB Challenger Cup is held before the FIVB Volleyball Nations League Finals (in 2018 and 2019 editions) but changed it in 2022 edition and the winners will qualify for the next year's VNL as a challenger team.[14][17]

New VNL qualification system

The lowest ranked Challenger team of the current edition of the VNL will play the Volleyball Challenger Cup (VCC) held after the VNL. The winner of the current edition of the VCC shall be promoted and compete in the next edition of the VNL.[18]

Hosts

List of hosts by number of final round championships hosted.

Times hosted Hosts Year(s)
2 China2018, 2019
1 Turkey2022
 Italy2021
 United States2023

Appearance

Legend
  Core team
  Challenger team
  Team is currently inactive in the Nations League
Team League Round Final Round
App. First Last App. First Last
 Argentina120182018–––
 Belgium420182022–––
 Brazil620182024520182023
 Bulgaria420192024–––
 Canada420212024–––
 China620182024420182023
 Croatia120232023–––
 Dominican Republic620182024–––
 France120242024–––
 Germany620182024120232023
 Italy620182024320192023
 Japan620182024320212023
 Netherlands620182024120182018
 Poland620182024220192023
 Russia320182021–––
 Serbia620182024220182022
 South Korea620182024–––
 Thailand620182024120222022
 Turkey620182024520182023
 United States620182024520182023

Results summary

Year Final host Final 3rd place match Teams
PR / FR
Champions Score Runners-up 3rd place Score 4th place
2018
Details		 China
Nanjing
United States		 3–2
Turkey
China		 3–0
Brazil		 16 / 6
2019
Details		 China
Nanjing
United States		 3–2
Brazil
China		 3–1
Turkey		 16 / 6
2020 China
Nanjing		 Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021
Details		 Italy
Rimini
United States		 3–1
Brazil
Turkey		 3–0
Japan		 16 / 4
2022
Details		 Turkey
Ankara
Italy		 3–0
Brazil
Serbia		 3–0
Turkey		 16 / 8
2023
Details		 United States
Arlington
Turkey		 3–1
China
Poland		 3–2
United States		 16 / 8

Medals summary

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States3003
2 Turkey1113
3 Italy1001
4 Brazil0303
5 China0123
6 Poland0011
 Serbia0011
Totals (7 entries)55515

MVP by edition

Team performances by season

Legend
  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • 3rd – Third place
  • 4th – Fourth place
  • Same position – No movement for Challenger teams
  • Rise – Promoted to the next year's VNL
  • Fall – Relegated for Challenger teams
Team 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
G FR RK G FR RK G FR RK G FR RK G FR RK G FR RK
 ArgentinaCH FallL16VCCVCC (canceled)did not participate
 BelgiumCH Same positionL13CH Same positionL7CH Same positionL9CH FallL15did not participate
 BrazilCF4CF2CF2CF2CF5 C
 BulgariaVCC RiseCH FallL16VCC (canceled)CH Same positionL14CH Same positionL13CH Same position
 CanadaVCCVCC RiseCH Same positionL14CH Same positionL12CH Same positionL10CH Same position
 ChinaCF3CF3CL5CF6CF2C
 Croatiadid not participateVCCVCC (canceled)VCC RiseCH FallL15did not participate
 Dominican RepublicCH Same positionL14CH Same positionL8CH Same positionL6CH Same positionL9CH Same positionL11CH Same position
 Francedid not participatedid not participateVCC (canceled)VCCVCC RiseCH
 GermanyCL11CL10CL10CL10CF8C
 ItalyCL7CF5CL12CF1CF6C
 JapanCL10CL9CF4CF7CF7C
 NetherlandsCF5CL11CL7CL11CL12C
 PolandCH Same positionL9CH Same positionF5CH Same positionL11CH Same positionL13CH Same positionF3CH Same position
 RussiaCL8CL14CL8could not participate[lower-alpha 1][19]
 SerbiaCF5CL13CL13CF3CL9C
 South KoreaCL12CL15CL15CL16CL16C
 ThailandCL15CL12CL16CF8CL14C
 TurkeyCF2CF4CF3CF4CF1C
 United StatesCF1CF1CF1CF5CF4C

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Russian athletes were banned from competing following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

References

  1. ↑ Renato Marques (11 March 2020). "Women's Volleyball going ahead but FIVB does not rule out changes". Macau Daily Times. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  2. ↑ "FIVB announces changes to events calendar". FIVB. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "FIVB announces the Volleyball Nations League". FIVB.org. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  4. ↑ "FIVB drastically changes format for 2018 World League and Grand Prix, Italy remain member of elite!". WorldofVolley. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "¡Qué bombazo!: La World League y el Grand Prix van a cambiar y Argentina será beneficiada" (in Spanish). Voley Plus. 16 June 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  6. ↑ "Landor partners with FIVB to launch Volleyball Nations League". Landor Associates. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  7. ↑ "Landor partners with FIVB for Volleyball Nations League". FIVB. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  8. ↑ "FIVB Partners with Microsoft, Changing the Way Fans Consume Volleyball". Around the Rings (ATR). 15 May 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  9. ↑ "FIVB partners with Microsoft, changing the way fans consume Volleyball". Microsoft. 18 May 2018.
  10. ↑ "Volleyball Nations League Press Kit" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-06-05.
  11. ↑ "FIVB reveals prize money for 2018 Volleyball Nations League". wov.its4test.com. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  12. ↑ "VNL2019 – News detail – 1.5 billion global audience tune in to watch 2019 VNL – FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2019". www.volleyball.world. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Pools overview released for thrilling inaugural season of VNL". FIVB.org. 16 February 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  14. 1 2 3 "Volleyball Challenger Cup battle begins in Peru for one ticket to 2019 Women's VNL". FIVB.org. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  15. ↑ "Events: Fivb Volleyball Nations League | Sears Centre Arena".
  16. ↑ "New Volleyball Nations League format announced".
  17. ↑ "Volleyball Challenger Cup battles coming up in Croatia and Korea". volleyballworld. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  18. ↑ volleyballworld.com. "VNL Qualification System". volleyballworld.com. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  19. ↑ "FIVB declares Russia and Belarus not eligible for international and continental competitions". FIVB. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
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