FIVB assures Poland there will be no matches against Russia at start of Nations League
UA.NEWS04
November
2026
07:21
The Polish Volleyball Federation has received assurances from the International Volleyball Federation that Poland’s men’s and women’s national teams will not play against teams from the aggressor state, Russia, in the intercontinental phase of the Nations League. This was stated by federation president Sebastian Świderski, Interia Sport reports.
Assurances regarding the Nations League
The next edition of the Nations League will feature 19 rather than 18 teams. Russia’s men’s and women’s national teams will take part in the competition following the FIVB’s decision to reinstate them. In the intercontinental phase, each team will play 12 matches.
According to Świderski, the Polish teams are not expected to face the Russian teams at this stage. At the same time, he warned that the arrangement still needs to be reflected in the competition schedule. Poland-Russia matches are potentially possible in the playoffs, which are reached by the eight best teams following the first phase. The quarterfinal pairings will be determined by positions in the standings.
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World Championships
Świderski also spoke about consultations between the Polish Volleyball Federation, Poland’s Ministry of Sport and Tourism, and the FIVB regarding the 2027 Men’s World Championship, which Poland will host. According to him, the Polish side stated that it would be unable to guarantee the safety of the Russian team during the tournament. The FIVB said that Russia had voluntarily withdrawn from participation in this World Championship.
At the Women’s World Championship, to be hosted by the United States and Canada, the Russian national team will compete. Poland could initially have been placed in the same group as Russia based on the FIVB ranking, but the federation took geopolitical circumstances into account, and Germany became the Polish team’s group opponent. Under the tournament bracket, Poland and Russia can meet only in a medal match, while Russia and Ukraine could potentially meet in the semifinal.
Świderski said that the meeting noted possible problems if teams from Poland, Ukraine, or Finland had to play against Russia. He stressed that this concerns not sporting aspects, but security. Russian national teams were suspended from international competitions after the aggressor state, Russia, attacked Ukraine in February 2022.
Source: www.bing.com
