The AVC Women's Volleyball Continental Championship (formerly known as the Asian Women's Volleyball Championship) is an international volleyball competition in Asia and Oceania. It is organized by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), the sport's continental governing body, and is contested by the senior women's national teams of its member nations.
This tournament serves as a qualification tournament to determine Asian representatives for major global events organized by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), such as the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Cup and the Olympic Games.
Initially established in 1975 in Australia, the competition was held every four years before shifting to a biennial format starting in 1987. However, the 2021 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, the competition cycle was adjusted again, moving to even-numbered years starting in 2026 to align with the new FIVB global volleyball calendar for 2025–2028.
From its inception until the 2026 edition, the tournament has been held 22 times, with a total of 25 national teams having competed. Throughout its history, only three nations have successfully claimed the championship title: China with 13 titles, Japan with 5 titles, and Thailand with 4 titles.
The reigning champions are Thailand, who successfully secured their fourth title at the 2026 edition held in China.
History The inaugural tournament, originally established as the Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, was hosted in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975. Initially, the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) organized the competition on a quadrennial basis. In 1987, the tournament transitioned to a biennial cycle held in odd-numbered years to better align with the international volleyball calendar.
Throughout its history, the championship has functioned as the primary continental qualification pathway for major global tournaments governed by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). From its early editions through the early 1990s, the tournament served as a direct Olympic qualification event for Asian teams. In subsequent decades, it acted as a continental qualifier for the now-defunct FIVB Women's Volleyball World Cup, which in turn served as a global qualification step for the Olympic Games. Furthermore, between 1993 and 2013, the tournament winners were awarded a continental berth to compete in the quadrennial FIVB World Grand Champions Cup.
The tournament was held consecutively until 2021. The 21st edition, originally scheduled to take place in the Philippines, was intended to allocate Asian qualification spots for the 2022 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship. However, the AVC cancelled the event due to international travel restrictions and health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Championship berths were instead distributed based on the FIVB Senior World Rankings. The tournament officially resumed in 2023 with Thailand acting as the host nation.
Following a commercial partnership between the AVC and Volleyball World, first signed in 2022 and later extended through 2052, the tournament was officially rebranded as the AVC Women's Volleyball Continental Championship in 2026. This edition also marked the first to be officially sanctioned by Volleyball World, coinciding with the shift to even-numbered years under the FIVB's 2025–2032 global calendar. The stakes of the competition were significantly upgraded, with the tournament now serving as a direct qualifier, awarding the champions an automatic berth to the 2028 Summer Olympics and the top three teams spots in the 2027 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Cup.
Competition formula Qualification Beginning with the 2026 edition, a total of twelve teams compete in the tournament. The qualification process is structured to ensure continental representation, with berths distributed through four criteria: Two automatic berths are granted to the host nation and the defending champions. One berth is awarded to the winners of the AVC Women's Volleyball Cup. Five berths are allocated to the five AVC-affiliated zonal associations with each zone receiving one berth decided via zonal qualification tournaments. Four berths are assigned based on the FIVB Senior World Rankings.
Final tournament Beginning with the 2026 edition, the tournament is split into two main phases: Preliminary phase: The twelve teams are divided into three pools of four (Pools A, B, and C) and play a single round-robin. Pool standings are determined by match wins, followed by match points, set ratio, points ratio, and head-to-head results. Final phase: The top two teams from each pool and the two best third-placed teams advance to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal matchups are determined by a combined ranking of the eight advancing teams. From this point, the tournament uses a single-elimination knockout bracket consisting of quarterfinals, semifinals, and the gold medal match, alongside a bronze medal match for the semifinal losers.
Results summary Finals #YearHostFinal3rd place matchTeamsChampionsScoreRunners-up3rd placeScore4th place11975DetailsMelbourneRound-robinRound-robin521979DetailsHong KongRound-robinRound-robin731983DetailsFukuokaRound-robinRound-robin941987DetailsShanghai3–03–01151989DetailsHong Kong3–03–11061991DetailsBangkok3–03–01471993DetailsShanghai3–03–11481995DetailsChiang MaiRound-robinRound-robin991997DetailsManilaRound-robinRound-robin9101999DetailsHong KongRound-robinRound-robin9112001DetailsNakhon Ratchasima3–03–29122003DetailsHo Chi Minh City3–03–110132005DetailsTaicang3–03–012142007DetailsNakhon RatchasimaRound-robinRound-robin13152009DetailsHanoi3–13–014162011DetailsTaipei3–13–214172013DetailsNakhon Ratchasima3–03–216182015DetailsTianjin3–03–014192017Details3–23–014202019DetailsSeoul3–13–013212023DetailsNakhon Ratchasima3–23–214222026Details Tianjin3–23–012
Performances by team TeamChampionsRunners-up3rd place4th placeTotal 13 5 1 3 22 5 7 8 1 21 4 2 3 3 12 0 7 10 3 20 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 6 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
Performances by zonal association Zonal associationChampionsRunners-up3rd place4th placeTotalEAVA (East Asia) 18 19 19 14 70SAVA (Southeast Asia) 4 2 3 4 13CAVA (Central Asia) 0 1 0 1 2OZVA (Oceania) 0 0 0 3 3
Medal summary
National team appearances Comprehensive team results + 1975(5) 1979(7) 1983(9) 1987(11) 1989(10) 1991(14) 1993(14) 1995(9) 1997(9) 1999(9) 2001(9) 2003(10) 2005(12) 2007(13) 2009(14) 2011(14) 2013(16) 2015(14) 2017(14) 2019(13) 2023(14) 2026(12) Total4th4th7th7th7th6th10th6th7th6th6th9th10th8th9th10th9th9th10th9th8th11th223rd1st2nd1st1st1st1st1st1st1st1st1st1st2nd2nd1st4th1st4th4th2nd2nd22••4th•4th5th4th4th4th5th5th5th5th6th6th5th7th4th6th6th9th8th19•6th8th10th8th11th12th9th9th8th••12th•10th•13th13th11th11th11th10th17•7th•••14th••••••11th•11th11th11th•10th10th7th•9•5th6th6th9th9th8th••••••9th13th13th10th••8th•5th12•••••••••••••12th8th8th8th8th9th7th10th4th9•••••••••••••••••••••12th11st2nd1st2nd3rd2nd2nd3rd3rd3rd4th2nd3rd1st3rd2nd2nd6th1st1st3rd3rd22••••••5th••9th•7th2nd5th5th9th5th7th7th5th5th9th13•••11th10th•••••••••••••••••2•••9th••••••••••••••••••1••••••••••••••••••14th•••1••••••••••••••••14th11th••12th•3••••••••••••••••16th•••••15th•9th4th•10th11th7th••8th10th•11th••••12th12th••11••••5th4th9th•••••7th••6th••••••5••5th••13th13th8th8th••8th9th•••12th12th8th•13th•11•••8th••••••••••••••••••12nd3rd3rd3rd2nd3rd3rd2nd2nd2nd2nd3rd4th4th4th3rd3rd2nd3rd3rd6th6th22•••••12th14th•••9th••10th14th12th15th14th13th13th••10•••5th6th7th7th5th5th4th3rd4th6th3rd1st4th1st3rd2nd2nd1st1st19•••••••••••••••14th••••••1••••••6th•6th7th•••13th12th•••••14th•6•••••8th••••7th6th8th7th7th7th6th5th5th•4th7th12 + Legend1stChampions2ndRunners-up3rd3rd place4th4th placeQQualified for upcoming tournament••Qualified but withdrew•Did not qualify×Withdrew before qualification / Banned by FIVBHostsDid not enterstyle="width:10px" Not a FIVB member
Debut of teams + Year Debutants Total 1975 , , , , 5 1979 , , 3 1983 , 2 1987 , , , 4 1989 1 1991 , 2 1993 , 2 1995 None 0 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 1 2009 None 0 2011 1 2013 , 2 2015 None 0 2017 1 2019 None 0 2023 2026 1
Awards Current awards
YearMost Valuable Player2003 Zhao Ruirui2005 Chu Jinling2007 Miyuki Takahashi2009 Onuma Sittirak2011 Wang Yimei2013 Wilavan Apinyapong2015 Zhu Ting2017 Risa Shinnabe2019 Mayu Ishikawa2023 Chatchu-on Moksri2026 Pornpun Guedpard
YearBest Setter2003 Yoshie Takeshita2005 Feng Kun2007 Nootsara Tomkom2009 Nootsara Tomkom2011 Yoshie Takeshita2013 Nootsara Tomkom2015 Shen Jingsi2017 Nootsara Tomkom2019 Nootsara Tomkom2023 Pornpun Guedpard2026 Pornpun Guedpard
YearBest Outside Spikers2015 Zhu Ting Kim Yeon-koung2017 Kim Yeon-koung Chatchu-on Moksri2019 Mayu Ishikawa Kim Yeon-koung2023 Yuki Nishikawa Wu Mengjie2026 Sasipapron Janthawisut Zhuang Yushan
YearBest Middle Blocker(s)2015 Pleumjit Thinkaow2017 Hattaya Bamrungsuk Nana Iwasaka2019 Nichika Yamada Yang Hanyu2023 Thatdao Nuekjang Yang Hanyu2026 Thatdao Nuekjang Wang Yuanyuan
YearBest Libero(s)2009 Wanna Buakaew2011 Nam Jie-youn2013 Kim Hae-ran2015 Nam Jie-youn2017 Mako Kobata Dawn Nicole Macandili2019 Piyanut Pannoy2023 Manami Kojima2026 Wang Mengjie
YearBest Opposite Spiker2015 Zeng Chunlei2017 Jin Ye2019 Haruna Soga2023 Zhou Yetong2026 Yukiko Wada
Former awards
YearBest Scorer2003 Choi Kwang-hee2005 Yelena Pavlova2007 Yelena Pavlova2009 Kim Yeon-koung2011 Kim Yeon-koung2013 Kim Yeon-koung
YearBest Spiker2003 Miyuki Takahashi2005 Chu Jinling2007 Xue Ming2009 Xue Ming2011 Kim Yeon-koung2013 Zhu Ting
YearBest Blocker2003 Zhao Ruirui2005 Lin Chun-yi2007 Pleumjit Thinkaow2009 Xue Ming2011 Yang Junjing2013 Xu Yunli
YearBest Server2003 Yang Hao2005 Amporn Hyapha2007 Saori Kimura2009 Saori Kimura2011 Wei Qiuyue2013 Kim Yeon-koung
YearBest Receiver2003 Zhang Na2005 Zhou Suhong2007 Yuko Sano
YearBest Digger2003 Fan Hsin-wen2005 Chen Chia-chi2007 Wanna Buakaew
See also AVC Men's Volleyball Continental Championship AVC Women's Volleyball Cup AVC Women's U20 Volleyball Championship AVC Girls' U18 Volleyball Championship AVC Girls' U16 Volleyball Championship Volleyball at the Asian Games
References
External links Asian Volleyball Confederation – official website