Draws set tone for upcoming U18 European Championships

The rising stars of European Volleyball will be taking to the court later this year in Latvia/Lithuania and Italy for the Final Round of the continental championships in the U18 age group. The two competitions will feature 16 teams in each gender and the relevant draws were run on Wednesday morning at the home of European Volleyball in Luxembourg, thereby setting the tone for the showdowns that will crown the 2026 European champions in this age category. 

With matches due to take place in Porto San Giorgio and Cisterna di Latina, #EuroVolleyU18M will run from July 7-18, 2026. France are the defending champions from 2024 and as the highest ranked qualified team – apart from the hosts – they were placed at the top of Pool II. The participating teams were drawn across Pool I and II after being divided into sub-cups based on the latest European Ranking in this age group. 

Italy lead the way in Pool I, where they will be taking on 2024 bronze medal winners Poland, MEVZA U18 champions Slovenia, Finland (winners of the NEVZA qualifier), Greece, Türkiye, Serbia, and rookies Iceland – winners of the SCA qualifier making their historic debut at this level. As for France, the 2024 gold medallists will be playing Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Spain, Germany, Romania, and the Netherlands in Pool II. After completing a single round robin, the top two teams from each pool will progress to crossed semis and to the subsequent bronze and gold medal matches. 

The corresponding women’s event, #EuroVolleyU18W, will be taking place from July 1-12 in Riga (Latvia) and Šiaulai (Lithuania). The Final Round of an age-group continental championship returns to Latvia for the first time since 2007, whereas Lithuania will be breaking new ground for European Volleyball by delivering an event of this calibre and magnitude for the first time in their history. The teams representing the two host countries were seeded at the top of Pool I and II, respectively. Latvia feature in a ‘group of death’ including Volleyball powerhouses such as Italy, Poland, and Türkiye – plus 2024 silver medal winners Belgium, Spain, Czechia, and rookies Iceland. Lithuania will welcome Bulgaria (winners of the 2024 edition albeit with a different generation of players), Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Finland, Greece, and France. The competition format is the same as for #EuroVolleyU18M – with seven matches for each team in the pool phase, followed by the semis and medal matches for the sides finishing first and second in each group. 

The 16 teams in each gender due to vie for European glory were defined in late March following completion of the second and last round of qualifications, preceded by the 1st Round qualifiers run by the six CEV Zonal Associations. The two events hold additional relevance since as many as six vacancies will be at stake in each gender to represent Europe in the 2027 edition of the FIVB U19 World Championships.