The FIVB Men's Volleyball Challenger Cup was an international

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 ...

competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The Challenger Cup served as a qualifying tournament for the Volleyball Nations League (VNL), with the winner earning the right to participate in the following year's VNL. A corresponding tournament for women's national teams was the

FIVB Women's Volleyball Challenger Cup The FIVB Women's Volleyball Challenger Cup was an international volleyball competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of the ' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The Challenger Cup served as a qualifying tou ...

History

The Challenger Cup was first announced in October 2017 (alongside the announcement of the Nations League) as a joint project between the FIVB, the

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and 21 national federations. The inaugural tournament was played between 20 and 24 June 2018 in

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, Portugal. The Portugal team won the tournament, defeating

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counterpart in the final and qualified for the 2019 Nations League. The 2020 and 2021 editions of the Challenger Cup were canceled due to the

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. When the tournament returned in 2022, it had a new knockout formula and the number of participating teams had increased from six to eight. In 2024, FIVB announced that the

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would replace the Challenger Cup as the qualifier for the 2026 Nations League and the tournament was discontinued.

Format

2018–2019

The six qualified teams play in 2 pools of 3 teams in a round-robin format. The top 2 teams of each pool qualify for the semifinals. The first ranked teams play against the second ranked teams in this round. The winners of the semifinals advance to compete for the Challenger Cup title. The champion team will qualify for the next year's Nations League as a challenger team.

2022–2024

The eight qualified teams play in a knockout stage format. The top four teams in the quarterfinals will qualify for the semifinals. The winner of the quarterfinal 1 will play a semifinal match against the winner of the quarterfinal 4 and the winner of the quarterfinal 2 will play a semifinal match against the winner of the quarterfinal 3. The winners of the semifinals will advance to compete for the Challenger Cup title. The champion team will qualify for the next year's Nations league as a challenger team.

Qualification

Hosts

List of hosts by number of final cups hosted.

Appearance

;Legend * – Champions * – Runners-up * – Third place * – Fourth place * – Did not enter / Did not qualify * – Hosts *Q – Qualified for forthcoming tournament

Results summary

Medals summary

Nations League qualifier

Notes

References

External links

Fédération Internationale de Volleyball
– official website {{International volleyball (Men) Recurring sporting events established in 2018 International men's volleyball competitions Annual sporting events