The 2026 Women's African Nations Volleyball Championship is the 22nd edition of the Women's African Nations Volleyball Championship, a biennial international volleyball tournament organised by the African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB) for national women's volleyball teams in Africa. The tournament is taking place from 25 August to 4 September.
The tournament is being held in the Kenya's capital, Nairobi, marking the sixth time the competition has been held in the country, after 2003, 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2015.
15 teams are participating, 3 more than in the previous edition. For the first time, a qualification took place and was held between June and July 2026. Ghana and Zambia return after long absences.
After FIVB's calendar changes starting 2025, this is the first Championship since 1976 to be held in an even-numbered year.
The winner qualifies for the Volleyball tournament at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The top three finishers will also qualify for the 2027 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Cup in Canada and United States.
Kenya is the defending champion, defeating Egypt 3–0 in the 2023 final in Yaoundé.
Year change On 22 June 2023, the (FIVB) announced a comprehensive restructuring of the international calendar for the 2025–2028 cycle. As part of this overhaul, continental championships shifted from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years, beginning in 2026. The structural change was implemented to prioritize athlete health and recovery by reducing calendar congestion, as well as to streamline the qualification pathways for major global tournaments such as the FIVB World Cup and the Olympic Games.
Host selection In January 2026, Kenya was given the hosting rights, with the capital, Nairobi, being the host city. This is Kenya's sixth time hosting after 2003, 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2015.
Teams Initially, 23 teams entered the competition. However, due to the amount of teams entering, the CAVB asked each region to organise qualifiers to narrow the volume of teams to 16. Morocco withdrew before the tournament bring the number of teams down to 15. Of the 15 qualified teams, 10 were present at the previous edition. Alongside Morocco's withdrawal, Lesotho also didn't qualify after not entering qualification. Of the returnees, Ghana comes back for the first time since 1993. Zambia returns after last taking part in 1995. DR Congo, Senegal and Tunisia return after not appearing in 2023. Numbers in brackets indicate their ranking before the tournament.
Qualified teams Qualification Host Dates Vacancies QualifiedHost nation January 2026 1 (24)Top ten in 2023 Yaoundé 16–24 August 2023 9 8 (82) (49) (64) (NR) (55) (54) (NR) (60) (77)Zone 1 qualifier Oran 13–14 July 2026 1 (NR)Zone 2 qualifier Praia 16–18 July 2026 1 (73)Zone 3 qualifier Abidjan 13–19 July 2026 1 (NR)Zone 4 qualifier Bangui 22–26 June 2026 1 (NR)Zone 5 qualifier Kampala 1–5 June 2026 1 (82)Zone 6 qualifier Harare 8–13 June 2026 1 (NR)
Draw
The draw took place on 24 August 2026 in Nairobi. Hosts Kenya, alongside Egypt, Cameroon, Rwanda, Algeria, Nigeria, Uganda and Mali, who were all the eight best teams from the 2023 edition taking part, were drawn via the Serpentine system, while the remaining seven teams were drawn normally.
Seeding + Pot 1Team (H) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th + Pot 2Team 5th 6th 8th 9th + Pot 3Team
Draw results
+ Pool A Team A1 A2 A3 + Pool B Team B1 B2 B3 B4 + Pool C Team C1 C2 C3 C4 + Pool D Team D1 D2 D3 D4
Schedule ScheduleRoundMatchdayDatePreliminary roundAll matches 25–27 August 2026Knockout stageRound of 16 29 August 2026Quarterfinals 1 September 2026Semifinals 3 September 20263rd place & Final 4 September 2026
Venues The venues are the Kasarani Indoor Arena and the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi.
NairobiNairobiKasarani Indoor ArenaUlinzi Sports ComplexCapacity: 5,000Capacity: 1,000
Referees The following 16 referees were selected for the tournament.
Kahiya Benbaka Ivaylo Ivanov Madina Wennemi Guigma Deogratias Niyonzima Marthe Clémence Eyike Lotutu Ewunda Pitshou Taghrid Khattab Andrea Puecher Linnet Omare Moussa Boubacar Sheba Victoria Jefferson Faustin Nsanzamahoro Fatou Ndiaye Zakaria Nemsi Nasur Stamil Gift Chesekela
Format The teams were drawn into four groups, three with four teams and one with three. The group stage is used for seeding as every team advances to the round of 16 where it is a straight knockout from then on.
Preliminary round Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 match points for the winner, 0 match points for the loser Match won 3–2: 2 match points for the winner, 1 match point for the loser
Tiebreakers Number of matches won Match points Sets ratio Points ratio If the tie continues as per the point ratio between two teams, the priority will be given to the team which won the match between them. When the tie in points ratio is between three or more teams, a new classification of these teams in the terms of points 1, 2, 3 and 4 will be made taking into consideration only the matches in which they were opposed to each other.
Pool A
Pool B
Pool C
Pool D
Final round Bracket
5–8 classification bracket
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
5–8th semifinals
7th place game
5th place game
Semifinals
3rd place match
Final
9–15 classification bracket
9–15th quarterfinals
9–12th semifinals
11th place game
9th place game
13–15 classification bracket
13–15th semifinals
13th place game
Final standing
Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:
Most valuable player Mariam Metwally Best setter Doaa Mohamed Best outside hitters Nada Meawad Mariam Metwally Best middle blockers Marian Sokoiyo Cécile-Laure Nabyong Best opposite spiker Malyne Tata Idechi Best libero Nada Walid
Statistics
Top 5 Scorers RankNamePoints Abda. N Mawuse Makiese Christy P Tush
See also 2026 AVC Women's Volleyball Continental Championship 2026 Women's European Volleyball Championship 2026 Women's NORCECA Volleyball Championship 2026 Women's South American Volleyball Championship
References
External links
CAVB website FIVB live center