Surprise! Norwegian beach star Anders Mol to play indoor in Italian SuperLega!

In a shocking development, one of the brightest stars of international beach volleyball – legendary Norwegian blocker Anders Mol – announced on Monday that he will play professional indoor volleyball in the Italian men’s volleyball SuperLega Credem Banca, competing for Rana Verona during the 2026-2027 season. However, he is not saying goodbye to beach volleyball or to his partner in the sand Christian Sorum, with whom he claimed the Tokyo 2020 Olympic title and 2022 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship title, as the two will finish this summer on the beach and then continue to chase their dream of winning the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic gold.

After nine seasons at the top of the world on sand, Anders Mol intends to use the season to test himself and learn from the very best in the indoor game, the last natural window to do that before the Olympic build-up towards the 2028 Olympic Games begins.

"I'm really looking forward to this challenge. Getting the opportunity to play for one of the world's best teams is an opportunity I probably won't get again. Learning from the very best and working with a coach (Fabio Soli), who is just as motivated as I am to take this on – that's incredibly exciting,” the 2.01m-tall athlete said in a press release from Norway’s national federation. “The fact that nobody has made this kind of transition before, combining beach volleyball with indoor at the highest level, makes it even more motivating. I'm looking forward to learning a lot and truly becoming a student of the game again. My goal is still to win a medal at the Olympics in LA with Christian, and I believe I can bring a lot of learning from the indoor game that will strengthen my beach game. Beach volleyball will always be my home."

Mol & Sorum have had a glorious journey together over the past 11 seasons in international beach volleyball. In addition to the Olympic gold in Tokyo, they earned an Olympic bronze at Paris 2024. Their World Championship collection also features one gold and one bronze. They have piled up as many as five CEV European Championship crowns, including the most recent one in 2025. Known as the Beachvolley Vikings, the Norwegian duo has already put together an impressive collection of 28 gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals from the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour and the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour combined, ruling as the number one team in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Ranking for long periods of time.

“This is a unique opportunity for Anders, and I think it's great that he dares to try something no one has done before,” Christian Sorum commented. I'll continue training with the national team through the winter, and I'm looking forward to us being back together next summer with our eyes set on the Olympics in Los Angeles.”

So far this season, Mol & Sorum have made only two appearances on the Beach Pro Tour, both in April, picking up gold at the Saquarema Elite in Brazil. However, they are set to appear at this week’s Hamburg Elite in Germany, next week’s EuroBeachVolley in Stare Jablonki, Poland – a direct qualifier for LA 2028, and the following week’s Montreal Elite in Canada.

At Rana Verona, mighty beach volleyball blocker Mol is set to play as an opposite. The club had their best season ever in 2025-2026, when they won the Italian national cup, took silver in the Italian super cup competition, and bronze in the Italian national league, qualifying for the CEV Champions League for the first time in history.

• Watch the Beach Pro Tour and the Italian SuperLega on VBTV

“We're completing next season's roster with the arrival of Anders, an extraordinary champion accustomed to competing and winning at the highest international levels,” said Rana Verona’s sporting director Adi Lami. “He will bring experience and a top-notch mentality. We're convinced that his contribution will be invaluable, both technically and within the locker room.”

There was another important change in Mol’s life recently. Some three weeks ago, shortly after his 29^th birthday, he got married.

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