FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League 2025: Full Schedule, Fixtures, Format, Teams, Pools and How to Watch

The 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League, which takes place from June 11 to August 3, is where the world’s top men’s volleyball teams begin their journey to Ningbo. The best 18 national men’s volleyball teams will participate in the preliminary round across nine pools in nine countries until July 13 before the VNL Finals, which will take place from July 30 to August 3. The competition will take place between June 11 and August 3.

Who will win the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League championship in 2025?

Four matches between nations and their pool opponents will be played each week, and the results will be recorded on a preliminary table. There will be three pool stages in which they will compete: week one from June 11–15, week two from June 25–29, and week three from July 16–20.

They will fight for a spot in the finals, which will be contested by eight countries in Ningbo, People’s Republic of China. China is already guaranteed a place in the finals as the hosts, but the qualifiers and the rest of the field will be impacted by the preliminary results.

The top eight will qualify if they place eighth or higher. However, China will move up to eighth position if they place lower than eighth.

Get the lowdown ahead of the 2025 edition of the annual event. France, the current Olympic and VNL champions, is heading a strong field and trying to reach the finals in July.

The men’s competition began the week following the women’s competition on June 4 in the People’s Republic of China, with 18 national teams competing for a spot in the final round.

Three former VNL champions are among the eligible countries. A few weeks after winning their second Nations League title, defending champions France enter as the double Olympic champions after their momentous gold in Paris 2024.

Olympic silver medallists Poland, who last won the VNL trophy in 2023, will be hoping that home advantage will help them advance to the finals since one of the final round pools will be played in Gdansk.

Brazil, one of only two South American countries to qualify, is the only current champion not from the European continent. Can they find their stride before the Philippines hosts the Volleyball World Championships later this year?

What you need to know about the men’s VNL in 2025 is provided here.

2025 Men’s Volleyball Nations League – Format

Over the three competition weeks, the 18 teams will be split into three of the nine pools and play 12 matches each. An announcement of the pool draw was made in December 2024.

Nations will play four matches against their pool opponents each week, and the results will be recorded on a preliminary table.
Three pool stages will be used for competition: week 1 will take place from June 11–15, week 2 will take place from June 25–29, and week three will take place from July 16–20.

2025 Men’s Volleyball Nations League – Teams

The 18 teams competing for a spot in the final round are as follows:

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• Cuba
• France
• Germany
• Islamic Republic of Iran
• Italy
• Japan
• Netherlands
• People’s Republic of China
• Poland
• Serbia
• Slovenia
• Türkiye
• Ukraine
• USA

2025 Men’s Volleyball Nations League – Pools

WEEK 1 (June 11 – 15)

Quebec City (Canada): Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Argentina, Bulgaria
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil): Slovenia, Cuba, USA, Ukraine, Brazil, Iran
Xi’An (People’s Republic of China): Poland, Netherlands, Japan, Turkiye, Serbia, People’s Republic of China

WEEK 2 (June 25 – 29)

Burgas (Bulgaria): Japan, Ukraine, France, Turkiye, Slovenia, Bulgaria
Chicago (USA): Poland, Brazil, Italy, Canada, USA, People’s Republic of China
Belgrade (Serbia): Argentina, Cuba, Serbia, Netherlands, Germany, Iran

WEEK 3 (July 16 – 20)

Gdansk (Poland): Poland, Iran, France, Bulgaria, Cuba, People’s Republic of China
Ljubljana (Slovenia): Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, Netherlands, Canada, Ukraine
Kanto (Japan): Japan, Argentina, USA, Germany, Brazil, Turkiye

2025 Men’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) – Schedule

All start times are listed in local time.

Preliminary round week 1 (11 – 15 June)

11 June 2025

Pool 1 in Quebec City, Canada (EDT, GMT-4)

11:00 – Bulgaria vs Italy
16:30 – Argentina vs France
20:00 – Germany vs Canada

Pool 2 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (BRT, GMT-3)

14:00 – Ukraine vs USA
17:30 – Brazil vs Islamic Republic of Iran
21:00 – Slovenia vs Cuba

Pool 3 in Xi’an, People’s Republic of China (CST, GMT+8)

13:30 – Poland vs Netherlands
17:00 – People’s Republic of China vs Japan
20:30 – Serbia vs Türkiye

12 June 2025

Pool 1 in Quebec City, Canada (EDT, GMT-4)

16:30 – Germany vs Italy
20:00 – Argentina vs Canada

Pool 2 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (BRT, GMT-3)

17:30 – Brazil vs Cuba
21:00 – USA vs Islamic Republic of Iran

Pool 3 in Xi’an, People’s Republic of China (CST, GMT+8)

17:00 – People’s Republic of China vs Serbia
20:30 – Poland vs Japan

13 June 2025

Pool 1 in Quebec City, Canada (EDT, GMT-4)

16:30 – Bulgaria vs Argentina
20:00 – France vs Italy

Pool 2 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (BRT, GMT-3)

17:30 – Ukraine vs Cuba
21:00 – Islamic Republic of Iran vs Slovenia

Pool 3 in Xi’an, People’s Republic of China (CST, GMT+8)

17:00 – Japan vs Serbia
20:30 – Netherlands vs Türkiye

14 June 2025

Pool 1 in Quebec City, Canada (EDT, GMT-4)

16:30 – Canada vs France
20:00 – Bulgaria vs Germany

Pool 2 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (BRT, GMT-3)

10:00 – Ukraine vs Brazil
13:30 – USA vs Slovenia

Pool 3 in Xi’an, People’s Republic of China (CST, GMT+8)

15:00 – People’s Republic of China vs Netherlands
19:00 – Türkiye vs Poland

15 June 2025

Pool 1 in Quebec City, Canada (EDT, GMT-4)

11:00 – Argentina vs Italy
14:30 – Germany vs France
18:00 – Bulgaria vs Canada

Pool 2 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (BRT, GMT-3)

10:00 – Brazil vs Slovenia
13:30 – Ukraine vs Islamic Republic of Iran
17:00 – Cuba vs USA

Pool 3 in Xi’an, People’s Republic of China (CST, GMT+8)

11:30 – Netherlands vs Japan
15:00 – People’s Republic of China vs Türkiye
19:00 – Poland vs Serbia

Preliminary round week 2 (25 – 29 June)

25 June 2025

Pool 4 in Burgas, Bulgaria (EEST, GMT+3)

12:30 – Ukraine vs France
16:00 – Türkiye vs Slovenia
19:30 – Bulgaria vs Japan

Pool 5 in Chicago, USA (CDT, GMT-5)

12:30 – Italy vs Poland
16:00 – Canada vs Brazil
19:30 – People’s Republic of China vs USA

Pool 6 in Belgrade, Serbia (CEST, GMT+2)

13:00 – Germany vs Cuba
16:30 – Netherlands vs Argentina
20:00 – Serbia vs Islamic Republic of Iran

26 June 2025

Pool 4 in Burgas, Bulgaria (EEST, GMT+3)

15:00 – France vs Japan
18:30 – Türkiye vs Ukraine

Pool 5 in Chicago, USA (CDT, GMT-5)

16:00 – Brazil vs People’s Republic of China
19:30 – Canada vs USA

Pool 6 in Belgrade, Serbia (CEST, GMT+2)

16:30 – Netherlands vs Germany
20:00 – Serbia vs Cuba

27 June 2025

Pool 4 in Burgas, Bulgaria (EEST, GMT+3)

15:00 – Ukraine vs Japan
19:30 – Bulgaria vs Slovenia

Pool 5 in Chicago, USA (CDT, GMT-5)

16:00 – People’s Republic of China vs Italy
19:30 – Canada vs Poland

Pool 6 in Belgrade, Serbia (CEST, GMT+2)

16:30 – Argentina vs Islamic Republic of Iran
20:00 – Netherlands vs Cuba

28 June 2025

Pool 4 in Burgas, Bulgaria (EEST, GMT+3)

15:30 – Slovenia vs France
19:00 – Bulgaria vs Türkiye

Pool 5 in Chicago, USA (CDT, GMT-5)

16:00 – Brazil vs Italy
19:30 – USA vs Poland

Pool 6 in Belgrade, Serbia (CEST, GMT+2)

16:30 – Germany vs Islamic Republic of Iran
20:00 – Serbia vs Argentina

29 June 2025

Pool 4 in Burgas, Bulgaria (EEST, GMT+3)

12:00 – Slovenia vs Japan
15:30 – Türkiye vs France
19:00 – Bulgaria vs Ukraine

Pool 5 in Chicago, USA (CDT, GMT-5)

12:30 – People’s Republic of China vs Canada
16:00 – Brazil vs Poland
19:30 – USA vs Italy

Pool 6 in Belgrade, Serbia (CEST, GMT+2)

13:00 – Islamic Republic of Iran vs Netherlands
16:30 – Cuba vs Argentina
20:00 – Germany vs Serbia

Preliminary round week 3 (16-20 July)

16 July 2025

Pool 7 in Gdansk, Poland (CEST, GMT+2)

13:00 – People’s Republic of China vs France
16:30 – Bulgaria vs Cuba
20:00 – Islamic Republic of Iran vs Poland

Pool 8 in Ljubljana, Slovenia (CEST, GMT+2)

13:00 – Ukraine vs Netherlands
16:30 – Serbia vs Italy
20:30 – Canada vs Slovenia

Pool 9 in Kanto, Japan (JST, GMT+9)

12:00 – Argentina vs Brazil
15:30 – Türkiye vs USA
19:20 – Germany vs Japan

17 July 2025

Pool 7 in Gdansk, Poland (CEST, GMT+2)

16:30 – People’s Republic of China vs Islamic Republic of Iran
20:00 – Cuba vs Poland

Pool 8 in Ljubljana, Slovenia (CEST, GMT+2)

16:30 – Ukraine vs Italy
20:30 – Netherlands vs Slovenia

Pool 9 in Kanto, Japan (JST, GMT+9)

15:30 – Türkiye vs Germany
19:20 – Argentina vs Japan

18 July 2025

Pool 7 in Gdansk, Poland (CEST, GMT+2)

16:30 – Cuba vs France
20:00 – People’s Republic of China vs Bulgaria

Pool 8 in Ljubljana, Slovenia (CEST, GMT+2)

16:30 – Ukraine vs Serbia
20:00 – Netherlands vs Canada

Pool 9 in Kanto, Japan (JST, GMT+9)

15:30 – Argentina vs USA
19:20 – Brazil vs Japan

19 July 2025

Pool 7 in Gdansk, Poland (CEST, GMT+2)

17:00 – Bulgaria vs Poland
20:30 – Islamic Republic of Iran vs France

Pool 8 in Ljubljana, Slovenia (CEST, GMT+2)

16:30 – Serbia vs Canada
20:30 – Slovenia vs Italy

Pool 9 in Kanto, Japan (JST, GMT+9)

15:30 – Türkiye vs Brazil
19:30 – Germany vs USA

20 July 2025

Pool 7 in Gdansk, Poland (CEST, GMT+2)

13:30 – People’s Republic of China vs Cuba
17:00 – Bulgaria vs Islamic Republic of Iran
20:30 – France vs Poland

Pool 8 in Ljubljana, Slovenia (CEST, GMT+2)

13:00 – Ukraine vs Canada
16:30 – Netherlands vs Italy
20:30 – Serbia vs Slovenia

Pool 9 in Kanto, Japan (JST, GMT+9)

11:00 – Türkiye vs Argentina
14:30 – Germany vs Brazil
19:20 – USA vs Japan

Finals (30 July-3 August)

Finals in Ningbo, People’s Republic of China (CST, GMT+8)

30 July 2025

Quarter-final 1 – TBD vs TBD
Quarter-final 2 – TBD vs TBD

31 July 2025

Quarter-final 3 – TBD vs TBD
Quarter-final 4 – TBD vs TBD

2 August 2025

Semi-final 1 – TBD vs TBD
Semi-final 2 – TBD vs TBD

3 August 2025

Third-place final – TBD vs TBD
Final – TBD vs TBD

How to watch the 2025 Men’s Volleyball Nations League live

VolleyballWorld will stream the 2025 Men’s Volleyball Nations League around the world, while some content might be restricted in some regions.