Pan American Volleyball Cup

What is the Pan American Volleyball Cup?

The Pan American Cup is a pair of annual senior national-team volleyball tournaments, one for men and one for women, listed by NORCECA among its events.^[1] The 2026 women’s edition, the 23rd, brought ten teams to León, Mexico: two pools of five played round-robin, the pool winners went straight to the semi-finals and the second- and third-placed teams to quarter-finals, followed by semi-finals and finals, as NORCECA described the format.^[4] Every team is classified, from first to last; the 2026 men’s edition, the 19th, ranked ten teams.^[2]

NORCECA’s edition numbering is not uniform across its own pages: the 2026 women’s event is titled “XXIII” on its event page, while that page’s web address reads “xxxiii”; and NORCECA’s report on the 2025 women’s final credited the Dominican Republic with its seventh title, while NORCECA’s women’s medal table lists six Dominican wins.^[3][6][4]

Who organizes the Pan American Volleyball Cup?

The Cups are NORCECA events. NORCECA, the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation, lists the men’s and women’s Pan American Cups, numbered by edition, on its events pages, and its 2026 calendar also carried U23 and U21 Pan American Cups.^[1][14] The host is a national federation of the NORCECA region, often Mexico in recent years: León hosted the women’s Cup in 2024 and 2026 and the men’s Cup in 2025.^[4][5]

The rules of play are those of the FIVB, the world federation, and the Cups count in its world ranking: NORCECA states that the 2026 women’s Cup “provides FIVB World Ranking points for NORCECA teams that do not participate in the Volleyball Nations League”.^[4] Teams from the South American confederation, the CSV, also take part: Venezuela played in León in 2026, and Argentina won the women’s Cups of 2023 and 2024.^[3][10][8]

When and where is it held?

Both Cups are held each year, usually in July, August or September, the men’s and women’s events in different cities. In 2026 the 19th men’s Cup was played from 9 to 16 August at the Poliforum 2 of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, in Morelos, Mexico, and the 23rd women’s Cup at the Domo de la Feria in León, Guanajuato, from 11 to 18 September, by NORCECA’s published schedule and event pages.^[2][4][3] Both were completed before 4 October 2026.

Recent hosts include Gatineau, Canada, and Hermosillo, Mexico (2022); Guadalajara, Mexico, and Ponce, Puerto Rico (2023); Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and León and Irapuato, Mexico (2024); and León and Colima, Mexico (2025).^{[11][12][9][10][7][8][5][6]}

Winning teams and hosts from NORCECA’s event pages, men (M) and women (W); NORCECA’s women’s medal table has no entries for 2020 or 2021. The 2019 row gives the women’s Cup only, from NORCECA’s event page for it.^[13]

Since when does the Pan American Volleyball Cup exist?

NORCECA’s medal table for the women’s Cup begins in 2002, with Cuba as the first winner, and runs through 2019, then resumes in 2022, with no entries for 2020 and 2021; the 2026 edition is numbered the 23rd.^[4] NORCECA numbers the 2026 men’s Cup the 19th, the 2022 men’s Cup the 15th and the 2022 women’s Cup the 19th.^[2][11][12] A NORCECA document giving the year of the first men’s Cup could not be retrieved.

The Cup is distinct from the volleyball tournament of the Pan American Games; the U21 and U23 Pan American Cups are separate age-group events.^[1][14]

How do teams qualify?

There is no qualifying round: the field is set for each edition, and the number of teams varies. NORCECA’s event pages record ten teams at the 2026 women’s and men’s Cups, twelve at the 2025 men’s Cup and ten at the 2025 women’s Cup, and eight at the 2022 men’s Cup.^{[3][2][5][6][11]} No published entry regulation for the Cups could be retrieved, and the basis on which teams are invited or entered could not be confirmed.

Onward, NORCECA states that the 2026 women’s Cup “forms part of the qualification pathway toward the Lima 2027 Pan American Games, although it does not directly qualify teams.”^[4] The Panam Sports qualification system for volleyball at Lima 2027 could not be retrieved.

Why does it matter?

The measurable value is world-ranking points. NORCECA states that the women’s Cup “provides FIVB World Ranking points for NORCECA teams that do not participate in the Volleyball Nations League”, and that it is part of the pathway towards the Lima 2027 Pan American Games without directly qualifying teams.^[4]

Results are recorded as team titles: the United States won both Cups in 2026, beating Puerto Rico 3–1 in the men’s final and the Dominican Republic 3–0 in the women’s final; in 2025 Venezuela won the men’s Cup, beating Mexico 3–1, and the Dominican Republic the women’s Cup, beating Colombia 3–0, according to NORCECA.^[2][3][5][6] Prize money was not published on the NORCECA pages retrieved.

Who competes?

National teams of the NORCECA region compete, joined by teams from South America. The 2026 women’s field was Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, the United States and Venezuela.^[4] The 2026 men’s field was the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Curaçao and Trinidad and Tobago.^[2]

The 2025 men’s Cup in León drew twelve teams: Venezuela, Mexico, Canada, Colombia, Chile, the United States, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Suriname, and Antigua and Barbuda.^[5] South American teams have reached the podium: Brazil finished second in the 2023 men’s Cup and Chile third, and Colombia was second in the women’s Cup in 2022 and 2025.^[9][12][6] Junior teams play in the separate U21 and U23 Pan American Cups.^[1][14]