Volleyball Women’s World Cup 2027: All 32 Teams Confirmed as Egypt, Kenya and Cameroon Qualify
The FIVB has confirmed all 32 teams for the Volleyball World Cup 2027 for women, with Egypt, Kenya and Cameroon qualifying as Africa’s representatives. The United States and Canada will host the tournament from 20 August to 5 September 2027, the FIVB announced. Switzerland will make their first appearance at the event, the governing body added.
The governing body completed the line-up this week, after the world rankings decided the final places. Meanwhile, Italy return as defending champions.
Volleyball Women’s World Cup 2027: Dates and Host Cities
Montreal, Quebec City, Omaha and Orlando will stage the group matches, while Anaheim, California, hosts the finals, according to the FIVB.
- Dates: 20 August to 5 September 2027
- Hosts: United States and Canada
- Pool cities: Montreal, Quebec City, Omaha and Orlando
- Finals venue: Anaheim
- Teams: 32
Full List of Qualified Teams
In total, teams qualified in three ways: as hosts or champions, through continental tournaments, or through the FIVB world rankings.
Automatic places (3): United States, Canada and Italy.
Continental qualifiers (15):
- Africa: Egypt, Kenya, Cameroon
- Asia: Thailand, China, Japan
- Europe: Türkiye, Serbia, Poland
- North and Central America and the Caribbean: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico
- South America: Brazil, Argentina, Colombia
World ranking qualifiers (14): Netherlands, Russia, Germany, Czechia, Belgium, France, Slovenia, Sweden, Mexico, Ukraine, Greece, South Korea, Bulgaria and Switzerland.
Africa’s Three Representatives
Egypt, Kenya and Cameroon all earned their places through African continental qualifying, the FIVB said. As a result, the continent has three teams in an expanded 32-team field.
Kenya’s Malkia Strikers will line up alongside Cameroon and Egypt in the pool stage. The FIVB’s announcement did not include the pool draw.
Switzerland Make History
In addition, Switzerland’s qualification is a first for the country. The Swiss, ranked 30th in the world, earned their place through the rankings route, according to the FIVB.
Similarly, several other European nations qualified through the rankings, including the Netherlands, Germany and France. By contrast, Türkiye, Serbia and Poland booked their places through continental qualification.
How the Volleyball World Cup 2027 Format Works
First, the 32 teams will play in eight pools of four. After that, the top two in each pool advance to the round of 16, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals, a bronze medal match and the final, the FIVB said.
Meanwhile, Italy will defend their title as the reigning champions, the FIVB confirmed. For more coverage in our volleyball section, or read our report on the USA’s Women’s Basketball World Cup win for another global title race this year.
