Czech Volleyball Association

The European Volleyball Confederation (french: Confédération Européenne de Volleyball or ''CEV'') is the continental governing body for the sports of indoor volleyball, beach volleyball, and snow volleyball in Europe. Its headquarters is located in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.

Profile

Although the CEV was formed on October 21, 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. In fact, the foundation itself is supposed to have been a move on the part of European national federations.

Volleyball was invented in the United States, but became for the first time an extremely popular sport in eastern Europe, after being introduced by American soldiers during World War I. By the middle of the century, it had already spread through the rest of the continent as well. Many techniques and tactics that are commonplace in modern volleyball have been allegedly introduced by European teams. Amongst others, it would be worthy of note here: blocking (Czechoslovakia, 1938); penetration of the setter, which eventually led to the development of the so-called 5-1 system (Soviet Union, 1949); forearm pass (Czechoslovakia, 1958); and backrow attack (Poland, 1974).

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 the one that organizes the largest number of 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 or the men's and women's world championships, and of international competitions hosted by one 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 October 5, 2016, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Volleyball Confederation banned all Russian national teams, clubs, and officials from participating in European competition, and suspended all members of Russia from their respective functions in CEV organs. It also canceled all competitions in Russia.

Affiliated federations

As of 2022, the following 56 national federations were affiliated to the CEV. The nations are listed alphabetically.

Note:

Possible member federations in the future: Åland, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Svalbard, and Vatican City.

National team competitions

Indoor volleyball

* Men's European Volleyball Championship
* Women's European Volleyball Championship
* Men's European Volleyball League
* Women's European Volleyball League
* European Games
* Men's U22 Volleyball European Championship
* Women's U22 Volleyball European Championship
* Men's Junior European Volleyball Championship
* Women's Junior European Volleyball Championship
* Boys' Youth European Volleyball Championship
* Girls' Youth European Volleyball Championship
* Boys' U17 European Volleyball Championship
* Girls' U16 European Volleyball Championship

Beach volleyball

* European Beach Volleyball Championships
* European Beach Volleyball Tour
* European U22 Beach Volleyball Championships (U23 until 2013)
* European U20 Beach Volleyball Championships
* European U18 Beach Volleyball Championships

Snow volleyball

* European Snow Volleyball Championships
* European Snow Volleyball Tour

Clubs competitions

Men

* CEV Champions League
* CEV Cup
* CEV Challenge Cup

Women

* CEV Women's Champions League
* Women's CEV Cup
* CEV Women's Challenge Cup

Zonal associations

The CEV has been divided into six zonal associations which are largely geographically based:

*Balkan Volleyball Association (BVA) – 11 national federations
*Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA) – 10 national federations
*Middle European Volleyball Zonal Association (MEVZA) – 8 national federations
* North European Volleyball Zonal Association (NEVZA) – 8 national federations^*
* Western European Volleyball Zonal Association (WEVZA) – 8 national federations
* Small Countries Association (SCA) – 14 national federations^*

Note:

^* The Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland are members of both the North European Volleyball Zonal Association and the Small Countries Association.

Sponsors

References

External links

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{{Sports governing bodies in Europe

Fédération Internationale de Volleyball confederations
Volleyball organizations
Volleyball
Volleyball in Europe
Sports organizations established in 1963
1963 establishments in Romania