Organisers of Nations Cup qualifiers confirmed

As many as 25 and 21 National Federations have registered for participation in the men’s and women’s CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup 2026, which will be reaching its climax later this summer with the highly anticipated Final scheduled for mid-July in Budapest downtown (click here for further info). The competition following an exciting and highly entertaining country vs country format was introduced in 2022 and last year ended with Norway and Germany claiming the men’s and women’s title in Espinho, respectively. 

With a Drawing of Lots coming up soon, the organisers for the preliminary phase have been confirmed already. The competition will get underway with a men’s only round in Protaras, Cyprus, on May 9-10 where an event of this calibre returns after the resort located in the Municipality of Paralimni did previously host other international Beach Volleyball competitions, including the 2007 edition of the U23 European Championships. 

Madrid and more specifically the permanent venue at Parque Deportivo Puerta de Hierro will welcome a double-gender event just in between the two single-gender Futures due to take place at the very same location in early and mid-May. Teams representing Spain and another three countries per gender will be contesting their preliminary phase round there on May 12-13. 

Later that week, on May 16-17, another double-gender event will be held in Cesis, Latvia, thereby capitalising on the valuable experience that the local organisers have gained by hosting a number of age-group championships and qualifiers under the aegis of the Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA). 

As the Nations Cup expands its horizons, a qualifying event will be contested for the first time on the shores of the Black Sea and more specifically in Constanta, Romania, from May 23-24 – before the Preliminary Phase wraps up in early June (5-7) when the Turkish seaside city of Alanya welcomes as many as two pools in each gender. 

As per the registration numbers, the Preliminary Phase will feature six men’s and five women’s pools, each one involving four countries. 

The winners of each event will join hosts Hungary in the Final – with two more countries qualifying for the women’s final and one more for the men’s final according to the provisions of the relevant Official Communication. 

The stage is set for another exciting campaign that will bring the excitement of the Nations Cup to a variety of countries and entertain the local fans with its distinctive competition format.