AVC Men’s Cup to Serve Off on Saturday in India The 2026 AVC Men’s Volleyball Cup, featuring the 11 top Asian men’s national teams not competing in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL), is set to begin on Saturday, June 20, in Ahmedabad, India. The tournament will be held at the Veer Savarkar sports complex, a 5,000-seater venue in western India, and will culminate in the final on June 28, where the winner will claim the prestigious continental trophy. All matches will be broadcast live on the Volleyball World YouTube channel. The event marks the debut of the AVC Men’s Volleyball Cup, formerly known as the AVC Challenge Cup and AVC Nations Cup. Participating teams will compete for the continental title, FIVB Volleyball World Ranking points, and potential qualification for the VNL and other elite competitions. The tournament is structured into two single round-robin pools, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the semifinals. Pool A, hosted by India, features the home nation aiming for their first podium finish in the competition. India’s campaign opens on June 20 with a match against New Zealand. The pool also includes defending champions Bahrain, who will attempt to retain their title, as well as two-time medalists Bahrain, world-ranked No. 37 Australia (the highest-ranked team in the pool), Chinese Taipei, and 2024 semifinalists Kazakhstan. Bahrain will start their defense of the AVC Cup crown with a match against Chinese Taipei. Pool B, which kicks off on June 20 with a match between Qatar and Oman, includes the world-ranked No. 22 team Qatar. Qatar, a two-time podium finisher in previous AVC Cup editions, won gold in 2024 and bronze in 2025.#avc_men_s_cup #ahmedabad_india #veer_savarkar_sports_complex #volleyball_world #avc_challenge_cup
