CEV Volleyball European Golden League Men throws off this weekend with 12 teams at the start

Five former winners of the CEV Volleyball European Golden League Men will be at the start of the competition this year, with Czechia, the hosts of the Final Four in Ostrava, having the chance to secure their third title and subsquently tie Türkiye as the most decorated side in the history of the competition. 

The competition throws off this weekend, between 6 and 8 June, with four tournaments, one in Strumica, North Macedonia, one in Bratislava, Slovakia, another one in Arta, Greece, and one in Mioveni, Romania.

A new format of the competition has been introduced from 2024 and kept for this current edition, which provides all participating teams with the opportunity to host a tournament on home soil – and to play two matches on the very same weekend at home against two quality opponents. This new formula significantly reduces travel costs, while also allowing all participants to promote their national teams.

Two of the four participants in last year’s Final Four will return to the competition, as the business end of the competition is due to take place in Ostrava, Czechia, with the hosts of the business end of the competition are already qualified to the Final Four. This time, the four teams vying for the trophy will clash in Ostrava, after having previously played in Karlovy Vary in 2018, with the previous three editions of the Final Four of the CEV Volleyball European Golden League taking place in Croatia, in Varaždin, Zadar and Osijek.

Reigning champions Ukraine, which were also runners-up in the 2023 edition, will not take part in the competition, featuring in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League, but there are plenty of powerhouses at the start, ready to provide entertaining matches.

The first week of this edition’s CEV Volleyball European Golden League Men will take place between 6 and 8 June, with the second week scheduled between 13 and 15 June. The third week will be played one week later, between 20 and 22 June.

The Final Four, due to be held in Ostrava, will have its semi-finals played on 5 July and the medal matches on 6 July.

Two-time winners Czechia, which secured the title in 2004 and 2022, will be one of the favourites to lift the trophy and they will start their competition in Strumica, North Macedonia, where they play against the winners of the last edition of the CEV Volleyball European Silver League Men, Israel, and Croatia.

Slovakia will host North Macedonia and Finland in Bratislava, in the second tournament, while Greece are hosting the third tournament of the first week, where Portugal and Spain are also participating.

Mioveni, Romania, will be the host of the fourth tournament, where the hosts are facing Montenegro and Latvia.

Eight teams at the start of the Silver League

The CEV Volleyball European Silver League Men will also throw off this weekend, with eight teams at the start. In each week, six teams will play in three-team tournaments, with the top two sides in the final standings progressing to the final, which will be played in a home-and-away system on 3 and 6 July.

The runners-up from the previous season, Austria, will be at the start, as well as Azerbaijan, the Faroe Islands, Hungary, Georgia, Iceland, Luxembourg and Sweden. Each of the teams will host a tournament, with the competition throwing off in Luxembourg and Umeå, Sweden.