The European Volleyball Confederation (), also known by its French acronym CEV, is the continental governing body for the sports of indoor volleyball, beach volleyball and snow volleyball in Europe. Its headquarters is in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
Profile Although the CEV was formed on 21 October 1963, in Bucharest, Romania volleyball became popular in Europe many years before. The majority of the teams that attended the Congress which eventually led to the foundation of the FIVB in 1947 were from this continent. The foundation is supposed to have been a move on the part of European national federations.
Volleyball was invented in the United States and became an extremely popular sport in eastern Europe when introduced by American soldiers during World War I. By the middle of the century, it had spread through the rest of the continent. Many techniques and tactics commonplace in modern volleyball were introduced by European teams.
The long and significant tradition of the sport in the continent may at least partially account for the administrative structure employed by the CEV, which rivals the FIVB's in size and comprehensiveness. It is the biggest of all volleyball confederations and organizes the most annual competitions and tournaments. As of 2005, its headquarters are located in Luxembourg.
As the presiding entity over European volleyball federations, the CEV organizes continental competitions such as the prestigious European Championship (first edition, 1948), the CEV Cup and the European League. It participates in the organization of qualification tournaments for major events such as the Olympic Games, men's and women's world championships and international competitions of its affiliated federations.
The CEV family increased its membership to 56 Federations following the approval of Kosovo on the opening day of the 35th FIVB World Congress held on 5 October 2016, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the CEV banned all Russian national teams, clubs and officials from participating in European competition, and suspended all Russians from their respective functions in CEV organs. It also canceled all competitions in Russia. In March 2026, the CEV allowed the Russian youth national teams to participate in tournaments with a flag and an anthem. In July 2026, this ban was completely lifted.
Affiliated federations As of 2022, the following 56 national federations are CEV affiliates, listed alphabetically.
CodeNationFederationALBFederata Shqiptare e VolejbollitANDFederació Andorrana de VoleibolARMHayastani Voleyboli Federats’iaAUTÖsterreichischer Volleyball VerbandAZEAzərbaycan Voleybol FederasiyasıBLRBielaruskaja Fiederacjya ValiejbolaBELFédération Royale Belge de VolleyballBIHOdbojkaški savez Bosne i HercegovineBULBulgarska Federatsiya VolejbolCROHrvatski odbojkaški savezCYPKypriakí Omospondía PetosfaírisisCZEČeský Volejbalový SvazDENDansk Volleyball ForbundENGVolleyball EnglandESTEesti Võrkpalli LiitFARFlogbóltssamband FøroyaFINSuomen Lentopalloliitto F. Y.FRAFédération Française de VolleyballGEOSakartvelos Prenburtis PedaratsiaGERDeutscher Volleyball VerbandGIBGibraltar Volleyball AssociationGREEllinikí Omospondía PetosfaírisisGRLKalaallit Nunaanni Volleyballertartut KattuffiatHUNMagyar Röplabda SzövetségISLBlaksamband ÍslandsIRLVolleyball IrelandISRIgud HaKadur'af BeIsraelITAFederazione Italiana PallavoloKOSFederata e Volejbollit e KosovësLATLatvijas volejbola federācijaLIELiechtensteiner Volleyball VerbandLTULietuvos tinklinio federacijaLUXFédération Luxembourgeoise de VolleyballMLTMalta Volleyball AssociationMLDFederaţia Moldovenească de VoleiMONFédération Monégasque de VolleyballMNEOdbojkaški savez Crne GoreNEDNederlandse VolleybalbondMKDOdbojkarska Federacija na MakedonijaNIR Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland Volleyball AssociationNORNorges VolleyballforbundPOLPolski Związek Piłki SiatkowejPORFederação Portuguesa de VoleibolROUFederaţia Română de VoleiRUSFederetsiya Voleybola RossiiSMRFederazione Sammarinese PallavoloSCOScottish Volleyball AssociationSRBOdbojkaški savez SrbijeSVKSlovenská Volejbalová FederáciaSLOOdbojkarska Zveza SlovenijeESPReal Federación Española de VoleibolSWESvenska VolleybollförbundetSUISwiss VolleyTURTürkiye Voleybol FederasyonuUKRUkrayins'ka Federetsiya VoleyboluWALPêl-foli Cymru
FIVB world rankings
Competitions Volleyball
National teams: Men EuroVolley Men's European Volleyball League CEV U22 Volleyball European Championship CEV U20 Volleyball European Championship CEV U18 Volleyball European Championship CEV U16 Volleyball European Championship Women EuroVolley Women's European Volleyball League CEV Women's U22 Volleyball European Championship CEV Women's U20 Volleyball European Championship CEV Women's U18 Volleyball European Championship CEV Women's U16 Volleyball European Championship
Clubs: Men CEV Champions League CEV Cup CEV Challenge Cup Women CEV Women's Champions League Women's CEV Cup CEV Women's Challenge Cup
Beach volleyball
Championship: European Beach Volleyball Championships European U22 Beach Volleyball Championships (U23 until 2013) European U20 Beach Volleyball Championships European U18 Beach Volleyball Championships
Tour European Beach Volleyball Tour
Snow volleyball European Snow Volleyball Championships European Snow Volleyball Tour
Title holders Volleyball ChampionshipLeagueU22U20U18U16Champions LeagueCEV CupChallenge CupMen(2023)(2026)(2026)(2024)(2026)(2025) Sir Safety Umbria Perugia(2025–26) Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza(2025–26) Allianz Milano(2025–26)Women(2026)(2026)(2026)(2024)(2026)(2025) VakifBank Istanbul(2025–26) Galatasaray Daikin(2025–26) Megabox Group Vallefoglia(2025–26)
Zonal associations Zones The CEV is divided into six zonal associations largely based on geography:
Balkan Volleyball Association (BVA) (1998) – 11 national federations, BVA Cup Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA) (2005) – 10 national federations Middle European Volleyball Zonal Association (MEVZA) (2002) – 8+1 national federations, MEVZA League North European Volleyball Zonal Association (NEVZA) (2002) – 8 national federations Western European Volleyball Zonal Association (WEVZA) (2013) – 8 national federations Small Countries Association (SCA) (1986) – 13+2 national federations, SCA Championship
The Faroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland are members of the NEVZA and SCA. Cyprus members of the MEVZA and SCA.
Members ALB,BIH,BUL,GRE,KOS,MDA,MKD,MNE,ROU,SRB,TUR ARM,AZE,BLR,EST,GEO,LAT,LTU,POL,RUS,UKR AUT,CRO,CYP,CZE,HUN,ISR,LUX,SVK,SLO DEN,ENG,FRO,FIN,GRL,ISL,NOR,SWE BEL,FRA,GER,ITA,NED,POR,ESP,SUI MLT,SMR,GIB,AND,MON,LIE,LUX,WAL,IRL,NIR,SCO+ISL,GRL,FRO,CYP
Sponsors Sponsors of CEVMikasa Sports, Sberbank, DenizBank, DHL, Gerflor
References
External links
CEV General Regulations released on Oct 19 2023 (Archived) CEV 40th Anniversary Book (Archived) CEV European Volleyball History Book I) (Archived) CEV European Volleyball History Book II) (Archived) CEV European Volleyball History Book III) (Archived) CEV European Volleyball History Book IV) (Archived) CEV Volleyball European Cups Organisation Guideline released on May 2022 (Archived)