2026 National Volleyball Championship: Format Changes, Doubled Number of Group Stage Matches

25/12/2025 09:06:00 sport

The 2026 National Volleyball Championship will officially start in April 2026 with important modifications to the competition format, most notably requiring teams to play a double round-robin in the group stage instead of a single round as in prior seasons.

According to the regulations announced by the Vietnam Volleyball Federation (VFV), the 2026 tournament will continue to be organized in two phases. Phase 1 will run from April 6 to April 19, 2026, at Dong Anh Gymnasium (Hanoi) for both men’s and women’s categories. Phase 2 and the final championship will be held at the end of the year, separately by category. The women’s teams will compete from October 14 to October 25, 2026, in Vinh Long, while the men’s category will take place from October 28 to November 8, 2026, at the Ho Chi Minh City Police Sports Center.

The 2026 tournament will still feature 16 teams, including 8 men’s teams and 8 women’s teams. The men’s teams are: Bien Phong MB, The Cong Tan Cang, Ho Chi Minh City Police, LPBank Ninh Binh, Hanoi, Da Nang, Sanest Khanh Hoa, and Ho Chi Minh City. For the women’s category, the participating teams are VTV Binh Dien Long An, LPBank Ninh Binh, Information Army, Vietinbank, Duc Giang Chemical Lao Cai, XMLS Thanh Hoa, Geleximco Hung Yen, and Hanoi.

The biggest change in the 2026 National Volleyball Championship is the group stage format. Instead of playing a single round-robin as in recent seasons, teams will now compete in a double round-robin (home and away). Under this system, each team will play a total of 14 group stage matches, including 7 matches in phase 1 and 7 matches in phase 2, before final rankings are decided.

After the group stage ends, the top 4 teams in each category will qualify for the final championship to contest the title. Teams ranked 5th to 8th will continue competing in classification rounds to determine their final positions for the season.

The number of matches in the 2026 National Volleyball Championship has doubled compared to previous seasons. Image: HT

Compared to earlier seasons, where each team played only 7 group stage matches, doubling the number of matches is considered a significant change in tournament organization. The new format demands teams to prepare more thoroughly in terms of personnel and ensures sufficient time to complete the entire match schedule.

Regarding foreign player registration rules, the 2026 regulations remain the same as in previous seasons. Each team may register up to 2 foreign players but can only field 1 foreign player on the court at the same time. If a foreign player is substituted by a libero, it still counts as having a foreign player off the court. The transfer and registration of foreign players must comply with the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) regulations.

Volleyball match schedule today, December 25, 2025

Additionally, each team may register up to 20 domestic players in the preliminary roster (excluding foreign players). When moving to phase 2, the number of players changed or added cannot exceed 3 compared to the list registered in phase 1.

The 2026 regulations also clearly define rules about assembling players for the national team. If a player fails to respond to a call-up or if a club refuses to release a player for national team training without the Federation’s approval, the organizer will consider disallowing that player or club from participating in official tournaments organized by the Vietnam Volleyball Federation.

With these changes to the format and schedule, the 2026 National Volleyball Championship will be held on a larger scale and for a longer duration than previous seasons, while maintaining the basic rules regarding the number of participating teams and foreign player registration.

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