VNL Council discusses upcoming edition of volleyball’s flagship annual competition

The Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Council held its meeting via a videoconference this week to share the experience of the VNL 2022 and discuss this year’s tournament, with the women’s edition getting underway on 30 May and the men’s following shortly after on 6 June.

The VNL Council, composed of the National Federations participating in or hosting the annual tournament, looked back at some of the defining moments of the VNL’s fourth edition, from a brand-new format with spectators back in the stands to the achievements of the 2022 tournament, including a total viewing audience of over 1.3 billion fans and over 30 broadcast partners in 80 territories.

The Council also listened to the report of the FIVB Athletes’ Commission presented by Sam Deroo on the results of the survey conducted among the athletes of the participating teams (170 responses). The survey was conducted with the goal of ensuring the voices of athletes are taken into account for the future improvement of the tournament. Additionally, three VNL participating countries, Canada, Türkiye and the Philippines, shared their experiences on hosting various VNL stops.

The members were also presented with updates on the upcoming edition, the VNL 2023, as the sport’s flagship annual event will once again bring the best live sport to iconic venues across Asia, Europe, North America and South America.

In particular, Ottawa, Canada; Nagoya, Japan; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Orleans, France; Anaheim, California, USA and Pasay City, Philippines will host the men’s preliminaries. Meanwhile the women’s preliminary round competition will take place in Ankara, Türkiye; Nagoya, Japan; Hong Kong, China; Brasilia, Brazil; Suwon, Korea; Bangkok, Thailand.

The VNL Finals will see eight elite teams per gender battle for the title in Arlington, Texas from 12-16 July for women’s edition, while the men’s competition will take place on 19-23 July at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland.