CEV BoA approves increase of teams for age-group championships from 12 to 16

In an effort to provide more opportunities for young players to compete and develop their skills, the CEV Board of Administration has decided to increase the number of teams participating in the final stage of all continental age-group championships from 12 to 16, with this measure applying to all age categories, starting with the 2023 edition of #EuroVolleyU16W and #EuroVolleyU17M.

This move will help Europe’s Volleyball stars in the making to grow their talent, especially as more members of the European Volleyball family will be able to send their respective national teams to the most competitive and challenging tournament in each age group. Moreover, the decision offers a perspective to re-define and re-organise national team programmes, knowing that there are increased opportunities at stake to compete at the highest continental level.

The increase from 12 to 16 teams applies to the Final Round of all age-group competitions – i.e. U16 Women, U17 Men, U17 Women, U18 Men, U19 Women and U20 Men.

The CEV Board of Administration approved a proposal to align the qualification process for the Final Round across all age groups. This means that the six Zonal Associations will be responsible for the delivery of the first round of qualifiers, followed by a second stage run by the CEV and involving all teams from across the continent not yet qualified for the Final Round.

With the increase of the number of participating teams from 12 to 16, the format of the Final Round will change accordingly, with two pools of eight teams each involved in a single round robin to begin with followed by the semis and all subsequent classification matches.

This re-shuffling of age-group competitions is in line with the vision of the CEV leadership to provide all members of the Volleyball family with more opportunities to compete and to grow the game at their national level.

Players representing National Federations from categories 4 and 5 are eligible to represent their country at a maximum of two national team competitions during the same year, including any ‘senior’ championship.

Moreover, to aid the development of the sport even further and involve organisers with less experience, the Board agreed that any National Federations from categories 1 and 2 playing host to an age-group continental championship would receive a homologated Volleyball flooring on top of the already existing financial support.