The European Volleyball Confederation (french: Confédération Européenne de Volleyball or ''CEV'') is the continental

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken g ...

for the sports of

indoor volleyball Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

, beach volleyball, and snow volleyball in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

. Its headquarters is located in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the G ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

Profile

Although the CEV was formed on October 21, 1963, in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. 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 The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, 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 The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

or the men's and

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as " women's rights" to denote female humans rega ...

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 Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Eur ...

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 Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...

, Guernsey, the

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Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

, Svalbard, and

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

National team competitions

Indoor volleyball

Men's European Volleyball Championship The Men's European Volleyball Championship (''EuroVolley'') is the official competition for senior men's national volleyball teams of Europe, organized by the European Volleyball Confederation ( CEV). The initial gap between championships was va ...

Women's European Volleyball Championship The Women's European Volleyball Championship is the official competition for senior women's national volleyball teams of Europe, organized by the European Volleyball Confederation ( CEV). The initial gap between championships was variable, but si ...

* Men's European Volleyball League *

Women's European Volleyball League The Women's European Volleyball League is a continental volleyball competition for senior women's national volleyball teams of Europe, organized by the European Volleyball Confederation ( CEV). Created in 2009, the competition served as a qualify ...

European Games The European Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Olympic Games, Olympic tradition contested by sportsperson, athletes from European nations and several European Olympic Committees#Notes, transcontinental countries. The Games were ...

* Men's U22 Volleyball European Championship *

Women's U22 Volleyball European Championship A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

* Men's Junior European Volleyball Championship *

Women's Junior European Volleyball Championship The Women's Junior European Volleyball Championship is a sport competition for national teams with players under 20 years, currently held biannually and organized by the European Volleyball Confederation, the volleyball federation from Europe. As ...

Boys' Youth European Volleyball Championship The Boys' Youth European Volleyball Championship is a volleyball competition for men's national teams with players under the age of 18 years, currently held biannually and organized by the European Volleyball Confederation The European Volleyb ...

Girls' Youth European Volleyball Championship The Girls' Youth European Volleyball Championship is a volleyball competition for girls' national teams with players under the age of 18 years, currently held biannually and organized by the European Volleyball Confederation, the volleyball federa ...

* Boys' U17 European Volleyball Championship * Girls' U16 European Volleyball Championship

Beach volleyball

* European Beach Volleyball Championships *

European Beach Volleyball Tour The Nestea European Championship Tour (or the European Beach Volleyball Tour) is a European beach volleyball tour organised by the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV). It is the highest ranked European series of beach volleyball tournamen ...

European U22 Beach Volleyball Championships European U22 Beach Volleyball Championships is a double-gender beach volleyball tournament for national U22 teams. It is organised annually by the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV). First held in 1999, it was originally an under-23 tournament ...

(U23 until 2013) *

European U20 Beach Volleyball Championships European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

European U18 Beach Volleyball Championships European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

Snow volleyball

European Snow Volleyball Championships European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

European Snow Volleyball Tour European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

Clubs competitions

Men

CEV Champions League The CEV Champions League is the top official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition is organised every year by the European Volleyball Confederation. Formula (2018–19 to present) Qualification A tota ...

CEV Cup The CEV Cup is the second tier official competition for men's Volleyball clubs of Europe. The competition takes place every year. Until 2000, it was the CEV Cup Winners' Cup. In 2000 it was renamed CEV Top Teams Cup and in 2007 it was renamed ...

CEV Challenge Cup The CEV Challenge Cup is the third tier official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. It started in the 1980–81 season under the name CEV Cup. In 2007 it was renamed CEV Challenge Cup. History * CEV Cup (1980– ...

Women

* CEV Women's Champions League *

Women's CEV Cup The Women's CEV Cup, formerly known as CEV Cup Winners' Cup (from 1972 to 2000) and CEV Top Teams Cup (from 2000 to 2007), is the second-top official competition for women's volleyball clubs of Europe and takes place every year. It is organized by ...

* CEV Women's Challenge Cup

Zonal associations

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

Balkan Volleyball Association The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

(BVA) – 11 national federations *

Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

(EEVZA) – 10 national federations *

Middle European Volleyball Zonal Association Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

(MEVZA) – 8 national federations *

North European Volleyball Zonal Association North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' i ...

(NEVZA) – 8 national federations^* *

Western European Volleyball Zonal Association Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

(WEVZA) – 8 national federations *

Small Countries Association Small may refer to: Science and technology * SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language * Small (anatomy), the lumbar region of the back * Small (journal), ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication * HTML_element#Presentation, <small>, a ...

(SCA) – 14 national federations^* Note: ^* The

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic archipelago, island group and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotlan ...

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...

, and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

are members of both the North European Volleyball Zonal Association and the Small Countries Association.

References

External links

* * {{Sports governing bodies in Europe Fédération Internationale de Volleyball confederations Volleyball organizations

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Volleyball in Europe Sports organizations established in 1963 1963 establishments in Romania