What are the Volleyball World Championships?
The FIVB World Championships are volleyball's world titles — men's since 1949, women's since 1952, now biennial. In 2025 Italy swept both: the men in Manila over Bulgaria, the women in Bangkok over Türkiye — a first-ever simultaneous double reign.[1] [2]
| Season | Pool / Format | Host cities |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 (M) | Italy | Manila (PHI) — over Bulgaria; part of Italy's historic double |
| 2025 (W) | Italy | Bangkok (THA) — over Türkiye |
| 2022 (M) | Italy | Poland/Slovenia — over Poland |
| 2022 (W) | Serbia | Netherlands/Poland — over Brazil |
| 2018 (M) | Poland | Italy/Bulgaria — back-to-back |
| 2018 (W) | Serbia | Japan — over Italy |
| 2014 (M) | Poland | Poland — over Brazil |
| 2014 (W) | United States | Italy — first U.S. women's world title |
| 2010 (M) | Brazil | Italy — third straight |
| 2010 (W) | Russia | Japan |
Men's (M) and women's (W) world champions, recent editions.
How do teams qualify?
Thirty-two team fields built from continental qualification and world ranking, playing pool and knockout rounds across multiple host cities — with rosters selected by each national federation, a Worlds jersey the sport's defining national-team credential.[2] [3]
Why do they matter?
With the Olympics, the Worlds are the sport's summit — the honor roll runs through the Soviet, Italian, Brazilian and Polish dynasties — and results seed the rankings and Olympic qualification that follow.[1] [3]
References
- Volleyball World — World Championships. Accessed August 2026.
- FIVB — official site. Accessed August 2026.
- Olympics.com — Volleyball. Accessed August 2026.