This year, volleyball fans were treated to a range of quality international matches. The Summer Games in Tokyo saw the French National Men’s Team and the US National Women’s Team take home gold medals. Russia and Brazil’s National Teams provided riveting contests for the men’s and women’s finals, respectively.
Though beach volleyball made international headlines for ongoing debates related to Olympic uniforms, the tournament provided a glance at new upcoming talents. The Qatar Men’s National Team, which finished with a bronze, stunned many pundits. Meanwhile, Australia’s Women’s National Team delighted audiences, though they finished behind the US with a silver medal.
Meanwhile, the Men’s EVC saw Italy take home their seventh title, while runners-up Slovenia gave fans a look at how next year’s 2022 FIVB World Championship might pan out. The Women’s EVC title also went to Italy, with Paola Egonu taking home the MVP award.
This year’s action saw an unprecedented amount of viewership from audiences around the world, which saw 11 million concurrent viewers for the men’s Poland vs. France semi-final, according to Gemius Global. In addition to the growing popularity of volleyball, from beach to snow, the expansion of sportsbooks in countries like the US has helped endear fans to new sports.
For example, one DraftKings promo code comes with a major deposit bonus, as well as one of the world’s most diverse betting markets. With millions tuning into (and betting on) the Tokyo Summer Games and thousands gearing up for next year’s FIVB World Championships, 2021 was a huge year for new and seasoned volleyball fans.
Luckily, 2022 looks just as promising. Keep reading for the top events scheduled for next year.
FIVB Women’s World Championships (Volleyball Nations League)
The 2022 FIVB Women’s Nations League will be co-hosted by the Netherlands and Poland. This event will mark the 19thiteration of the women’s tournament and will be contested in late summer, from 26 August to 11 September.
As per this year’s results from the 2021 Continental Championships, ten teams have already qualified. This includes the reigning champions in Serbia, as well as Argentina, the US, Canada, Germany, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Belgium, Kazakhstan, South Korea, and Thailand. Additionally, Russia will be competing as a ‘neutral team’.
FIVB Men’s World Championships (Volleyball Nations League)
The 2022 FIVB Men’s Nations League will be hosted in Russia. It will run concurrent to the Women’s World Championship, from 26 August to 11 September, and will be spread across ten different host cities.
As with the Women’s tournament, the Russian team will be competing under a neutral title as per sanction requirements imposed in 2020. So far, the first 12 teams have been named according to FIVB rankings. These include China, Qatar, Egypt, Serbia, Turkey, Netherlands, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Cuba, Mexico, and the US.
CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour
As one of the fastest-growing sectors of volleyball, more and more fans are tuning in to developing projects like the CEV Snow Volleyball Tour. Recently, the CEV announced two stopovers for the 2022 Tour: Kahranmanmaras in Turkey (18-20 February) and Tarvisio in Italy (4-6 March).
Kahramanmaras will be hosting its first event, though neighboring cities of Mt. Uludag and Kayseri-Erciyes hosted successful events in recent years. Tarvisio, located in Northern Italy, will also be hosting its first major snow volleyball event.
Looking ahead, CEV will be looking to develop new locations after the successful launch of the first EuroSnowVolley championship event in 2018. In 2018, Russian duo Ruslan Daianov and Tara Msykiv took home the men’s title, while Lithuanian stars Moniika Povilaityte and Ieva Dumbauskaite took home the women’s title.
Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour
Though there’s no championship scheduled for beach volleyball in 2022, Volleyball World recently announced the launch of an inaugural World Tour. The tour will see teams compete at some of the world’s most famous venues and beaches, from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro to the iconic resort of Gstaad (Switzerland).
The tour will also look to highlight new locations that will host events in the future, including China, Mexico, the Maldives, and Egypt.
