2026 AVC Men's Volleyball Continental Championship

External videos
External videos
	[LIVE] Drawing of Lots - AVC Men's Volleyball Continental Fukuoka 2026

2026 AVC Men's Volleyball Continental Championship
買取大吉アジア男子バレーボール選手権大会福岡2026 (Japanese); Kaitori Daikichi Ajia Danshi Barēbōru Senshuken Taikai Fukuoka 2026;
Tournament details
Host country	Japan
City	Kitakyushu
Dates	4–13 September
Teams	12 (from 1 confederation)
Venue	1 (in 1 host city)
	← 2023 2028 →

The 2026 AVC Men's Volleyball Continental Championship, officially named the Kaitori Daikichi AVC Men's Volleyball Continental Fukuoka 2026 (Japanese: 買取大吉アジア男子バレーボール選手権大会福岡2026) for sponsorship reasons, is the upcoming 23rd staging of the AVC Men's Volleyball Continental Championship, a biennial international volleyball tournament by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) with Japan Volleyball Association (JVA). It is scheduled to take place at Kitakyushu City General Gymnasium in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan from 4 to 13 September 2026.^[1]^[2]

Following structural adjustments to the international volleyball calendar by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), Continental Championships are now permanently staged during even-numbered years to maximize player welfare and clean up qualification pathways.^[3] The 2026 edition will serve as a direct qualification pathway for major international tournaments. The winning team will earn a direct quota place for the 2028 Summer Olympics, while the top three finishers will secure qualification spots for the 2027 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Cup.^[4]^[5]

Host selection

On 20 December 2025, the Asian Volleyball Confederation officially unveiled its comprehensive calendar for the 2026 international season following joint meetings with the FIVB and Volleyball World in Bangkok, Thailand. During this announcement, Kitakyushu, Japan was confirmed as the host city for the Men's Continental Championship.^[2]

On July 3, 2026, the Japan Volleyball Association (JVA) confirmed that Kaitori Daikichi would serve as the tournament's title sponsor.^[1]

Qualification

A total of 12 teams qualified for the tournament.^[6] The final list of participating teams was officially confirmed by the AVC on 6 February 2026.^[5]


Team	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Appearance(s)			Previous best performance^[A]	WR^[B]
Team	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Total	First	Last	Previous best performance^[A]	WR^[B]
Japan	Host nation	20 December 2025	23rd	1975	2023	Champions (10 times)^[b]	TBD
Iran	2023 Asian Championship runners-up^[c]	26 August 2023	22nd	1979	2023	Champions (2011, 2013, 2019, 2021)	TBD
Bahrain	2025 AVC Nations Cup champions	24 June 2025	12th	1979	2023	8th place (1987, 2023)	TBD
India	2025 CAVA Nations League runners-up^[d]	23 July 2025	21st	1979	2023	4th place (2005)	TBD
Oman	2025 West Asian Championship 3rd placer^[e]	27 July 2025	4th	2013	2019	13th place (2019)	TBD
Chinese Taipei	2025 Asian Eastern Zonal Championship runners-up^[f]	23 August 2025	21st	1983	2023	4th place (1983, 1997, 2021)	TBD
Thailand	2025 SEA Games champions	19 December 2025	18th	1987	2023	5th place (2005)	TBD
New Zealand	2025 Oceania Qualifier runners-up^[g]	22 December 2025	11th	1975	2005	7th place (1975)	TBD
Qatar	World ranking pathways	1 January 2026	18th	1989	2023	3rd place (2023)	TBD
South Korea			23rd	1975	2023	Champions (1989, 1993, 2001, 2003)	TBD
China			23rd	1975	2023	Champions (1979, 1997, 1999)	TBD
Australia			22nd	1975	2021	Champions (2007)	TBD

Pools composition

Seeding

Teams were split into three pools with four teams each. The hosts were automatically placed in the top position of Pool A as the first seed, while the previous runners-up were placed at the top of Pool B as the second seed. The next four teams from the FIVB World Ranking were placed across the first and second lines using the serpentine system. The third and fourth lines consisted of the remaining teams according to the ranking and were drawn in the ceremony.^[7]

Seeded teams	Line 3	Line 4
Japan (hosts and defending champions) (7) Iran (16) Qatar (21) South Korea (26) China (28) Australia (33)	Bahrain (40) Chinese Taipei (53) India (58)	Thailand (59) Oman (76) New Zealand (82)

Draw results

Pool A
Pos	Team
A1	Japan
A2	Australia
A3	Bahrain
A4	Oman

Pool B
Pos	Team
B1	Iran
B2	China
B3	India
B4	New Zealand

Pool C
Pos	Team
C1	Qatar
C2	South Korea
C3	Chinese Taipei
C4	Thailand

Venue

On 3 July 2026, the Japan Volleyball Association (JVA) announced that the tournament would be held in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. All matches are scheduled to take place at Kitakyushu City General Gymnasium.^[1]

Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan		240km 149miles Kitakyushu 🌍 Location map of the host venue
Kitakyushu City General Gymnasium
Capacity: 10,000

Pool standing procedure

Total number of victories (matches won, matches lost)^[7]
In the event of a tie, the following first tiebreaker will apply: The teams will be ranked by the most point gained per match as follows:^[7]
- Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 points for the winner, 0 points for the loser
- Match won 3–2: 2 points for the winner, 1 point for the loser
- Match forfeited: 3 points for the winner, 0 points (0–25, 0–25, 0–25) for the loser
If teams are still tied after examining the number of victories and points gained, then the AVC will examine the results in order to break the tie in the following order:^[7]
- Set quotient: if two or more teams are tied on the number of points gained, they will be ranked by the quotient resulting from the division of the number of all set won by the number of all sets lost.
- Points quotient: if the tie persists based on the set quotient, the teams will be ranked by the quotient resulting from the division of all points scored by the total of points lost during all sets.
- If the tie persists based on the point quotient, the tie will be broken based on the team that won the match of the Round Robin Phase between the tied teams. When the tie in point quotient is between three or more teams, these teams ranked taking into consideration only the matches involving the teams in question.

Preliminary round

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00).

Pool A

Pos	Team	SR	SPR	Qualification
1	Japan (H)	—	—	Advance to quarter-finals
2	Australia	—	—	Advance to quarter-finals
3	Bahrain	—	—	Possible quarter-finals, based on ranking
4	Oman	—	—

First match(es) will be played: 4 September 2026. Source: AVC Men’s Volleyball Continental 2026 - Standings
Rules for classification: Pool standing procedure
(H) Host

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Total
4 Sep	19:30	Japan	–	Oman	–	–	–	0–0
5 Sep	10:00	Australia	–	Bahrain	–	–	–	0–0
6 Sep	19:30	Japan	–	Bahrain	–	–	–	0–0
7 Sep	10:00	Oman	–	Australia	–	–	–	0–0
8 Sep	19:30	Japan	–	Australia	–	–	–	0–0
9 Sep	10:00	Bahrain	–	Oman	–	–	–	0–0

Pool B

Pos	Team	SR	SPR	Qualification
1	Iran	—	—	Advance to Quarter-finals
2	China	—	—	Advance to Quarter-finals
3	India	—	—	Possible quarter-finals, based on ranking
4	New Zealand	—	—

First match(es) will be played: 4 September 2026. Source: AVC Men’s Volleyball Continental 2026 - Standings
Rules for classification: Pool standing procedure

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Total
4 Sep	12:30	Iran	–	New Zealand	–	–	–	0–0
5 Sep	13:30	China	–	India	–	–	–	0–0
6 Sep	10:00	Iran	–	India	–	–	–	0–0
7 Sep	13:30	New Zealand	–	China	–	–	–	0–0
8 Sep	10:00	India	–	New Zealand	–	–	–	0–0
9 Sep	17:00	Iran	–	China	–	–	–	0–0

Pool C

Pos	Team	SR	SPR	Qualification
1	Qatar	—	—	Advance to Quarter-finals
2	South Korea	—	—	Advance to Quarter-finals
3	Chinese Taipei	—	—	Possible quarter-finals, based on ranking
4	Thailand	—	—

First match(es) will be played: 4 September 2026. Source: AVC Men’s Volleyball Continental 2026 - Standings
Rules for classification: Pool standing procedure

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Total
4 Sep	16:00	South Korea	–	Chinese Taipei	–	–	–	0–0
5 Sep	17:00	Qatar	–	Thailand	–	–	–	0–0
6 Sep	13:30	Qatar	–	Chinese Taipei	–	–	–	0–0
7 Sep	17:00	Thailand	–	South Korea	–	–	–	0–0
8 Sep	13:30	Qatar	–	South Korea	–	–	–	0–0
9 Sep	13:30	Chinese Taipei	–	Thailand	–	–	–	0–0

Combined ranking

Pos	Pool	Team	SR	SPR	Qualification
1	A	Japan (H)	—	—	Advance to quarter-finals
2	B	Iran	—	—
3	C	Qatar	—	—
4	A	Australia	—	—
5	B	China	—	—
6	C	South Korea	—	—
7	A	Bahrain	—	—
8	B	India	—	—
9	C	Chinese Taipei	—	—
10	A	Oman	—	—
11	B	New Zealand	—	—
12	C	Thailand	—	—

First match(es) will be played: 4 September 2026. Source: AVC Men’s Volleyball Continental 2026 - Standings
Rules for classification: Pool standing procedure
(H) Host

Final round

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00).

Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final

Sep

1
	12 Sep
8

Sep

4
		13 Sep
5

Sep

2
	12 Sep
7

Sep
		3rd place match
3
		13 Sep
6

Quarterfinals

Date	Time	Score	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Total
10 Sep	15:30	–	–	–	–	0–0
10 Sep	19:30	–	–	–	–	0–0
11 Sep	15:30	–	–	–	–	0–0
11 Sep	19:30	–	–	–	–	0–0

Semifinals

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Attd	Report
12 Sep	15:30		–		–	–	–			0–0
12 Sep	19:30		–		–	–	–			0–0

3rd place match

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Attd	Report
13 Sep	15:30		–		–	–	–			0–0

Final

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Attd	Report
13 Sep	19:30		–		–	–	–			0–0

Final standing

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	Qualification
1	Champions	0	0	0	0	Qualified for the 2027 World Cup, 2028 Summer Olympics, and 2028 Continental Championship
2	Runners-up	0	0	0	0	Qualified for the 2027 World Cup
3	Third place	0	0	0	0	Qualified for the 2027 World Cup
4	Fourth place	0	0	0	0

5	Fifth place	0	0	0	0
6	Sixth place	0	0	0	0
7	Seventh place	0	0	0	0
8	Eighth place	0	0	0	0

9	Ninth place	0	0	0	0
10	Tenth place	0	0	0	0
11	Eleventh place	0	0	0	0
12	Twelfth place	0	0	0	0

Source:

Awards

2026 AVC Men's Continental champions

Notes

↑ Bold text indicates they hosted that edition.
↑ World ranking at the start of the tournament.

↑ For promotional purposes the host city of the tournament is designated as Fukuoka.^[1]
↑ Japan have won in 1975, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1995, 2005, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2023.
↑ As Japan had qualified as the hosts, its slot was reallocated to Iran who is the runners-up of the previous championship.
↑ As Iran had already qualified, its slot was reallocated to India.
↑ As both Qatar and Bahrain had qualified, its slot was reallocated to Oman.
↑ As South Korea had qualified, its slot was reallocated to Chinese Taipei.
↑ As Australia had qualified, its slot was reallocated to New Zealand.

References

1 2 3 買取大吉アジア男子バレーボール選手権大会福岡2026 開催地決定のお知らせ [Announcement of the Host Venue Selection for the Kaitori Daikichi Asian Men's Volleyball Championship Fukuoka 2026]. JVA (Press release) (in Japanese). 3 July 2026. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
1 2 "AVC Unveils 2026 International Volleyball Calendar and Host Cities". AVC (Press release). 20 December 2025. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
↑ "Volleyball calendar 2025-2028 approved by the FIVB Board of Administration". FIVB (Press release). 22 June 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
↑
WC27 and LA28 ticket:
- Lloyd, Owen (4 July 2023). "FIVB devise new calendar set to impact Los Angeles 2028 qualification". Inside the Games. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
- "Volleyball and beach volleyball qualification systems for LA28 Olympic Games confirmed". FIVB (Press release). 11 December 2025. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
1 2 "AVC Confirms Qualified Teams for 2026 AVC Volleyball Continental Championships". AVC (Press release). 6 February 2026. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
↑ AVC [@avcvolley]; (7 February 2026). "Are you ready for the #AVCContinental Championships? Twelve teams will compete in the AVC Volleyball Continental Championships 2026, carefully selected through a structured qualification process set by the Asian Volleyball Confederation and its zones". Retrieved 4 July 2026 – via Instagram.
1 2 3 4 "Competition Regulations" (PDF). AVC. Retrieved 28 July 2026.

External links

2026 AVC Men's Volleyball Continental Championship at Volleyball World

[bold-8] Bold text indicates they hosted that edition.

[wr-9] World ranking at the start of the tournament.

[city-1] For promotional purposes the host city of the tournament is designated as Fukuoka.^[1]

[JPN-10] Japan have won in 1975, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1995, 2005, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2023.

[IRI-11] As Japan had qualified as the hosts, its slot was reallocated to Iran who is the runners-up of the previous championship.

[IND-12] As Iran had already qualified, its slot was reallocated to India.

[OMA-13] As both Qatar and Bahrain had qualified, its slot was reallocated to Oman.

[TPE-14] As South Korea had qualified, its slot was reallocated to Chinese Taipei.

[NZL-15] As Australia had qualified, its slot was reallocated to New Zealand.

[JVA-2] 1 2 3 買取大吉アジア男子バレーボール選手権大会福岡2026 開催地決定のお知らせ [Announcement of the Host Venue Selection for the Kaitori Daikichi Asian Men's Volleyball Championship Fukuoka 2026]. JVA (Press release) (in Japanese). 3 July 2026. Retrieved 5 July 2026.

[AVC-3] 1 2 "AVC Unveils 2026 International Volleyball Calendar and Host Cities". AVC (Press release). 20 December 2025. Retrieved 4 July 2026.

[FIVB-4] "Volleyball calendar 2025-2028 approved by the FIVB Board of Administration". FIVB (Press release). 22 June 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2026.

[OG&WC_slot-5] WC27 and LA28 ticket:
Lloyd, Owen (4 July 2023). "FIVB devise new calendar set to impact Los Angeles 2028 qualification". Inside the Games. Retrieved 4 July 2026.

"Volleyball and beach volleyball qualification systems for LA28 Olympic Games confirmed". FIVB (Press release). 11 December 2025. Retrieved 4 July 2026.

[mwArY] Lloyd, Owen (4 July 2023). "FIVB devise new calendar set to impact Los Angeles 2028 qualification". Inside the Games. Retrieved 4 July 2026.

[mwAr4] "Volleyball and beach volleyball qualification systems for LA28 Olympic Games confirmed". FIVB (Press release). 11 December 2025. Retrieved 4 July 2026.

[AVC2-6] 1 2 "AVC Confirms Qualified Teams for 2026 AVC Volleyball Continental Championships". AVC (Press release). 6 February 2026. Retrieved 4 July 2026.

[IG-7] AVC [@avcvolley]; (7 February 2026). "Are you ready for the #AVCContinental Championships? Twelve teams will compete in the AVC Volleyball Continental Championships 2026, carefully selected through a structured qualification process set by the Asian Volleyball Confederation and its zones". Retrieved 4 July 2026 – via Instagram.

[MVC-CR-16] 1 2 3 4 "Competition Regulations" (PDF). AVC. Retrieved 28 July 2026.

[a]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[A]

[B]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[e]

[f]

[g]

[7]

AVC Men's Volleyball Continental Championship
Tournaments	1975 1979 1983 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2026
Squads	1975 1979 1983 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2026