Four iconic host cities to welcome CEV EuroVolley 2026 Men!

Naples, Modena, Turin, and Milan will be playing host to the 2026 edition of the CEV EuroVolley Men as the competition will stop in four major cities across the Italian peninsula – with the eventual winners crowned in Milan on September 27, 2026 and qualifying for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games! After completion of the respective qualifiers this past weekend, the 24 participating teams are known and they will have a better understanding of what their journey looks like when the Drawing of Lots takes place this coming October 4 at the iconic Norman-Swabian Castle in Bari. 

After previous such experiences, including the CEV EuroVolley 2023 Women, the opening match will be taking place at a truly unique location, Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples downtown, in a temporary, custom-built arena. This special setting for athletes and fans alike will set the tone for a majestic Volleyball party that will be lasting for almost three weeks and will involve – apart from Italy – another three host countries – Bulgaria, Finland, and Romania. Back in August of 2023, Italy played Romania at the Arena di Verona in another open air match that went down in European Volleyball history. The opening match scheduled for September 10, 2026 will coincide with the absolute EuroVolley premiere in Naples. 

After the competition begins in Naples, the Pool A fixtures will continue in Modena, a real ‘Mecca’ of Italian Volleyball, with the local PalaPanini regarded by many as a Volleyball ‘temple’, which has already played host to countless elite matches, including World League games and the 2014 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championship. 

The four 8th and two quarterfinal matches to be played in Italy (the remaining such fixtures will be contested in Varna, Bulgaria) will be taking place at another iconic venue – Palavela in Turin. This very same venue – fully refurbished for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games when it hosted figure skating and short track speed skating events – did already welcome CEV EuroVolley Men matches back in 2015. Moreover, EuroVolley returns to Turin only three years after the women’s competition was organised there – albeit at a different venue. The matches in Turin will be especially important since those teams progressing from this stage of the tournament will remain in contention for the medals. 

The event will be reaching its climax at the state-of-the-art, imposing, and futuristic Arena Santa Giulia in Milan, which is currently under construction and will be ready in time for the upcoming Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The top teams in Europe will be performing on a truly exclusive stage – where the semis and medal matches will be played to crown the new European champions. 

“With their wealth of experience in the delivery of major Volleyball events and four incredibly iconic host cities, Italy are the ideal partner for us to deliver a memorable CEV EuroVolley 2026 – an event and experience for players and fans alike that will elevate our sport to unprecedented heights. I look forward to working together with our Italian friends and colleagues as the countdown to a truly majestic party begins and I would like to thank all the local and regional authorities for their support and cooperation,” says CEV President Roko Sikirić.  

“After the terrific success we achieved in 2023, when we hosted both the men’s and women’s competitions, we are happy to be able to play host to the CEV EuroVolley Men, an event that has grown with each edition and reflects the leading status that European Volleyball enjoys on the global stage,” says the President of the Italian Volleyball Federation, Giuseppe Manfredi. “We are grateful for the trust placed on us and we will work hard for the successful delivery of the event. With these four host cities, we are combining history and tradition with innovation and the future of a country that continues to play a leading role with both its national teams and in the delivery of major events as well.” 

The men’s European Championship, now known as CEV EuroVolley Men, did previously take place in Italy in 1948 (that was the first-ever edition of the continental tournament), 1971, 2005, 2015, and 2023.