How to qualify for volleyball at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained
The sport will see changes to the way quotas and the Olympic competition format are defined. Host country France's women’s and men’s teams are the first to have qualified for the Games. Learn how many teams will qualify, what the road to Paris is like and the changes from Tokyo 2020.
Excitement for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 is growing each day, with the International Federations of the 32 sports revealing the road to Olympic qualification.
The FIVB (International Volleyball Federation) has released the qualification timeline for volleyball. At Paris 2024, world rankings will play a bigger role in the definition of quotas, and the Olympic competition format will differ slightly from Tokyo 2020.
Find out the answers to the main questions about the volleyball qualification process for Paris 2024.
How many teams will compete in volleyball in Paris 2024?
The women’s and men’s tournaments will have 12 teams each, resulting in 144 athletes per gender.
What is the volleyball qualification pathway to Paris 2024?
As the host country, France is entitled to one quota for the men’s and women’s tournaments.
For the remaining 11 quotas for each gender, six will be defined by three Olympic Qualification Tournaments, to be played in September and October 2023.
The three Olympic Qualification Tournaments will feature eight teams each - 24 total - defined by the FIVB rankings of September 12, 2022 (men) and October 17, 2022 (women). The top two teams in each tournament will qualify for Paris 2024.
The five remaining Olympic places will be decided using the FIVB rankings in June 2024, prioritising countries from continents that do not yet have qualified teams in the Olympic tournament.
In Tokyo 2020, there were six qualification tournaments, and the remaining spots were defined by continental competitions.
What is the Paris 2024 volleyball competition format?
In Paris, the preliminary phase will be divided into three groups with four teams each – instead of the two groups of six seen at Tokyo 2020.
The top two teams from each group and the best two third-placed teams advance to the playoffs. There will be no changes thereafter, with quarterfinals, semifinals and bronze and gold medal matches taking place.
Volleyball teams and athletes to watch at Paris 2024
Host country France doesn’t need to worry about Olympic qualification, but it’s still worth keeping an eye on the men’s team led by Jean Patry and Earvin N’Gapeth, who won their first gold medal at Tokyo 2020.
After not making it to the podium for the first time since Sydney 2000, Brazil will be aiming to revamp their team while still counting on the experience of Bruno Rezende and Yoandy Leal.
In women’s volleyball tournament, the finallists in Tokyo, the USA and Brazil, have strong overall rosters, and megastars such as Tijana Boskovic from Serbia and Paola Egonu from Italy always make their teams strong candidates in any competition.
Volleyball qualification timeline to Paris 2024
- 1 September 2022: Host country confirms use of the host country places to the FIVB.
- 12 September 2022: Participants of the men’s OQT defined as per World Ranking.
- 17 October 2022: Participants of the women’s OQT defined as per World Ranking.
- 16 – 24 September 2023: OQT for women.
- 30 September – 8 October 2023: OQT for men.
- 17 June 2024: World Ranking qualification pathway for women.
- 24 June 2024: World Ranking qualification pathway for men.
- On the following day after each event relevant to each qualification pathway: The FIVB confirms in writing to the NOCs, NFs their allocated quota places.
- Within seven days after the FIVB’s notification: The NOCs confirm in writing to the FIVB the use of the allocated quota places.
- No later than 2 July 2024: The FIVB reallocates all unused quota places.
- 8 July 2024: Paris 2024 Sport Entries Deadline.
- 26 July – 11 August 2024: Olympic Games Paris 2024.