2023 Men's European Volleyball Championship: Preview, schedule and how to watch live
The 34th edition of the Men's European Volleyball Championship starts on 28 August, where 24 teams will compete in eight venues across four host nations to determine the 2023 European champion.
Volleyball
The Men's European Volleyball Championship is set to kick off on Monday (28 August), where defending champions Italy will look to add an eighth gold medal to their impressive trophy cabinet.
Here is all the key information you need to know about the competition.
Italy face Slovenia at the 2021 Men's European Volleyball Championships
When does the 2023 Men's European Volleyball Championship start?
The tournament starts on 28 August and concludes with the gold medal game on 16 September 2023. The 76 matches will be contested in eight venues across four host nations: Italy, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Israel. Rome will host the semifinals and medal matches.
What teams are competing at the 2023 Men's European Volleyball Championship?
24 teams will take part in the competition, split into four pools*.
*The team's official FIVB World Ranking is listed in brackets [].
Pool A
- Belgium [23]
- Estonia [39]
- Germany [15]
- Italy [3]
- Serbia [9]
- Switzerland [36]
Pool B
- Bulgaria [30]
- Croatia [32]
- Finland [22]
- Slovenia [8]
- Spain [33]
- Ukraine [13]
Pool C
- Czechia [21]
- Denmark [44]
- Montenegro [38]
- Netherlands [11]
- North Macedonia [43]
- Poland [1]
Pool D
- France [6]
- Greece [34]
- Israel [unranked]
- Portugal [25]
- Romania [31]
- Türkiye [12]
What is the schedule for the 2023 Men's European Volleyball Championship?
Pool phase: Monday 28 August - Wednesday 6 September
First knockout round: Friday 8 September - Tuesday 12 September
Semi-finals: Thursday 14 September
Gold and bronze medal games: Saturday 16 September
Top teams to watch at the 2023 European Volleyball Championship
Italy are tied with the former Soviet Union for most medals won in the history of the competition (14), and their current world ranking [3] - not to mention the fact that they are the reigning European and world champions - shows that Gli Azzurri will be a formidable force at the tournament.
However, they are not the top team in the world at the moment; that honour falls to Poland. The White and Reds are three-time world champions (most recently in 2018) and earned their solitary European gold medal in 2009.
France, who have an automatic quota spot for the 2024 Olympic Games as hosts, are another favourite for the podium - both in Rome and Paris next year. Les Survivants were crowned champions at the 2015 European Championship and are the reigning Olympic champions after triumphing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021
How to watch the 2023 Men's European Volleyball Championship
Fans can watch every match from the tournament live & on-demand at eurovolley.tv or via their YouTube channel (memberships for certain matches required).