Volleyball World launches bid for hosting VNL 2025 to 2027

The Volleyball Nations League (VNL), the world’s most prestigious annual volleyball competition, has officially launched the global bidding process for cities interested in hosting the Pool Phase and Finals from 2025 to 2027.

The VNL is growing year over year as a premium “sportainment” product. Last year, the league saw a growth of almost 20% in attendance with sold-out venues. Moreover, the sponsorship value of the VNL increased by 27%. Impressively, the cumulative global audience grew by a remarkable 48% growth from 2022 to 2023, while Volleyball TV (VBTV) viewership grew 13% year on year reaching 630M viewers. The VNL 2023 also captivated a vast audience with a social media reach of 214 million.

Recently, the League has announced important format changes, such as the expansion of the field from 16 to 18 teams, increasing the number of pool locations from 2 to 3 each week. These adaptations will not only elevate the VNL experience for athletes, media and sponsors, but also amplify the commercial and local impact opportunities for host cities and bring the fans closer to their heroes.

From Asia to South America, from Canada and the USA to Poland and Türkiye, over the last 5 years, a selected number of cities around the world have hosted the event, welcoming international volleyball powerhouses, the shiniest global superstars and generating millions of dollars of positive economic, media and tourism impact. After witnessing the growing interest and demand from audiences and fans, the VNL will extend its footprint around the world, bringing its unique excitement and bigger fandom to even more markets.

After the 3 Pool weeks, the VNL Finals will mark the pinnacle of the season. The host team and the top 7 VNL teams per gender will face each other in a thrilling knockout format. There will be 8 matches, captivating the audience’s attention and keeping fans on the edge of their seats until the last day.

Interested National Federations, cities, governments and/or interested organisers are invited to submit an expression of interest by April 19^th 2024.

All necessary documents for interested parties shall be shared upon request exclusively by email at event.hosting@volleyball.world

All official bids must be submitted via e-mail by April 26^rd 2024, with individual negotiations to take place until May 10^th 2024.

The selection of host cities for the VNL 2025 to 2027, Men’s and Women’s Pools is anticipated to be announced by August 2024.