The 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship qualification was the qualification process organized by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) to determine the participating teams for the 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship, the 20th edition of the international women's volleyball world championship.
A total of 32 teams qualified to play in the final tournament in Thailand. The host country Thailand and the defending champion Serbia qualified automatically, while the other 30 teams were decided by qualification through the Continental Championships in 2023 and the FIVB World Ranking at the end of August 2024.
Slot allocation In March 2022, the FIVB Board of Administration approved the new proposed World Championship format. The proposed format increased the number of teams from 24 to 32 to guarantee universality. The new format of the World Championship was confirmed in late 2022 and started with this edition.
The qualification criteria and slot allocation of the expanded World Championship were approved by the FIVB Board of Administration. Similar to the 2022 World Championship, the number of places in the finals allocated to each of the continental zones was not based on the numbers participating in the qualification round and relative performance of the confederations' teams from the previous edition (for example, the NORCECA slot in 2018 was the second most with six due to large numbers of teams in the continental qualifiers (34) and the high performance of their teams in 2014). Every confederation was awarded its slot allocation with three, determined by the ranking of its Continental Championships in 2023. As a courtesy, the host team receives an automatic berth selection, as has happened with the immediate past tournament winner in 2022. The remaining places were determined by the FIVB World Ranking at the end of August 2024, without the continental bias.
Qualified teams
The host country Thailand and the defending champion Serbia qualified automatically. Meanwhile, the other fifteen teams (three per confederation) qualified through the Continental Championships in 2023. The remaining fifteen places (twelve from CEV and three from NORCECA) were allocated to the highest-ranked teams according to the FIVB World Rankings at the end of August 2024. Therefore, all of the teams were from all confederations with sixteen from CEV, six from NORCECA, four from AVC, three from CAVB, and another three from CSV.
Of the 32 teams qualified, 21 teams were returning after appearing in the 2022 edition. Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Vietnam made their World Championship debut. Meanwhile, France, Spain, Ukraine, Greece and Egypt returned to the tournament after long absences, having last participated in 1974, 1982, 1994, 2002 and 2006, respectively. Additionally, Cuba and Mexico returned to the tournament after missing the 2022 edition. In contrast, South Korea, Kazakhstan and Croatia, all of whom qualified for the 2022 edition, failed to qualify due to insufficient rankings.
The following thirty-two teams qualified for the tournament, listed by the method of qualification. CountryConfederationQualified asQualified onPrevious appearancesPrevious best performanceTotalFirstLasta AVC Host country 30 August 2024619982022 (1998, 2010, 2018, 2022)bc CEV Defending champions 15 October 2022619782022 (2018, 2022) CSV 2023 South American champions 22 August 20231719562022 (1994, 2006, 2010, 2022) CSV 2023 South American runners-up 22 August 2023719602022 (1960) CSV 2023 South American 3rd placers 22 August 202312022 (2022) CAVB 2023 African champions 23 August 2023719942022 (1994, 1998) CAVB 2023 African runners-up 23 August 2023319902006 (1990) CAVB 2023 African 3rd placers 24 August 2023420062022 (2006, 2014, 2018)d CEV 2023 European champions 30 August 20235200620226th place (2010) CEV 2023 European 3rd placers 30 August 20231519562022 (2018)c CEV 2023 European 4th placers 30 August 20231219782022 (2002) NORCECA 2023 NORCECA champions 919742022 (2014) NORCECA 2023 NORCECA runners-up 2 September 20231719562022 (2014) NORCECA 2023 NORCECA 3rd placers 3 September 20231019742022 (2022) AVC 2023 Asian runners-up 5 September 20231519562022 (1982, 1986) AVC 2023 Asian 3rd placers 6 September 20231719602022 (1962, 1967, 1974)a AVC 2023 Asian 4th placers 30 August 20240NoneNone CEV 1st World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 20241119522022 (1952)e CEV 2nd World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 20241719562022 (1974, 1986) CEV 3rd World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 2024419562022 (2022)fg CEV 4th World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 20241219522022 (1952, 1960) NORCECA 5th World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 2024819742022 (2002) CEV 6th World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 202411994 (1994) CEV 7th World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 2024319521974 (1952) CEV 8th World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 20241319522022 (1952) NORCECA 9th World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 20241319702018 (1978, 1994, 1998) CEV 10th World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 20240NoneNone NORCECA 11th World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 2024819702018 (1974) CEV 12th World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 20240NoneNone CEV 13th World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 20240NoneNone CEV 14th World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 202411982 (1982) CEV 15th World ranked non-qualified team 30 August 202412002 (2002)
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Qualification process There were two methods to qualify for the 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship: a direct qualification through the 2023 Continental Championships and a qualification based on the FIVB World Ranking at the end of August 2024. The qualification process commenced on 20 August 2022, initially with the qualifiers for the 2023 European Championship. In contrast, four other Continental Championships did not implement a qualification process. The Continental Championships took place between August and September 2023.
The World Ranking qualification pathway was calculated based on each team's performance in the FIVB world-level competitions and the confederation's continental tournaments. During the 2023-2024 national team window, there were a total of twenty-two events contributing to World Ranking points. This started from the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Nations League in May 2023 and continued until the 2026 European Championship qualifiers on 29 August 2024. Each competition had a different factor value for calculating points. The Olympic Games had the highest point factor of 50, with points decreasing progressively based on the importance of the tournament. The point calculation only considered senior national teams, in cases of overlapping tournaments.
Continental Championships The following five Continental Championships held to select and qualify teams for the tournament: Confederation Tournament Date Venue Teams AVC (Asia and Oceania) 2023 Asian Championship 30 August – 6 September 2023 Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand 13+1 CAVB (Africa) 2023 African Championship 16–24 August 2023 Yaoundé, Cameroon 12 CEV (Europe) 2023 European Championship qualification Pool A 20 August – 11 September 2022 Osijek, Croatia Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Hadera, Israel Piatra Neamț, Romania 3 Pool B 20 August – 11 September 2022 Tábor, Czechia Seinäjoki, Finland Kópavogur, Iceland Pljevlja, Montenegro 3 Pool C 20 August – 10 September 2022 Nicosia, Cyprus Kutná Hora and Tábor, Czechia Budapest, Hungary Santo Tirso, Portugal 3 Pool D 20 August – 10 September 2022 Graz, Austria Baku, Azerbaijan Tbilisi, Georgia Maribor, Slovenia 4 Pool E 20 August – 11 September 2022 Middelfart, Denmark Jelgava, Latvia Poprad, Slovakia Gijón, Spain 4 Pool F 20 August – 11 September 2022 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Kalamaria, Greece Tromsø, Norway Schönenwerd, Switzerland 4 2023 European Championship 15 August – 3 September 2023 Brussels and Ghent, Belgium Tallinn, Estonia Düsseldorf, Germany Florence, Monza, Turin and Verona, Italy 23+1 CSV (South America) 2023 South American Championship 19–23 August 2023 Recife, Brazil 5 NORCECA (North America) 2023 NORCECA Championship 29 August – 3 September 2023 Quebec City, Canada 7Total 5 Continental Championships 20 August 2022 – 6 September 2023 71+2
World Ranking attributed tournaments The following twenty-two tournaments attributed to the World Ranking in 2023 and 2024 national team windows: Organizers Tournament Factor Date Venue Teams FIVB 2023 Volleyball Nations League 40 30 May – 16 July 2023 Arlington, United States (final) 16 2023 Volleyball Challenger Cup 20 27–30 July 2023 Laval, France 8 2023 Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifiers Pool A 35 16–24 September 2023 Ningbo, China 8 Pool B 35 16–24 September 2023 Tokyo, Japan 8 Pool C 35 16–24 September 2023 Łódź, Poland 8 2024 Volleyball Nations League 40 14 May – 23 June 2024 Bangkok, Thailand (final) 16 2024 Volleyball Challenger Cup 20 4–7 July 2024 Manila, Philippines 8 2024 Olympic Games 50 28 July – 11 August 2024 Paris, France 12 AVC (Asia and Oceania) 2023 AVC Challenge Cup 10 18–25 June 2023 Gresik, Indonesia 11 2023 Asian Championship 25 30 August – 6 September 2023 Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand 14 2024 AVC Challenge Cup 10 22–29 May 2024 Manila, Philippines 10 CAVB (Africa) 2023 African Championship 25 16–24 August 2023 Yaoundé, Cameroon 12 CEV (Europe) 2023 European League 10 27 May – 9 July 2023 Lund, Sweden (final) Piatra Neamț, Romania (final) 17 2023 European Championship 25 15 August – 3 September 2023 Brussels and Ghent, Belgium Tallinn, Estonia Düsseldorf, Germany Florence, Monza, Turin and Verona, Italy 24 2024 European League 10 16 May – 16 June 2024 Ostrava, Czechia (final) 21 2026 European Championship qualification(Matchday 1–3) Pool A 17.5 18–29 August 2024 Turku, Finland Schwerin, Germany Schönenwerd, Switzerland 3 Pool B 17.5 17–28 August 2024 Kortrijk, Belgium Birkerød, Denmark Budapest, Hungary 3 Pool C 17.5 17–29 August 2024 Tallinn, Estonia Ljubljana, Slovenia 3 Pool D 17.5 17 August 2024 Jelgava, Latvia 2 Pool E 17.5 17–28 August 2024 Tbilisi, Georgia Santo Tirso, Portugal Guadalajara, Spain 3 Pool F 17.5 17–28 August 2024 Schwechat, Austria Kalamaria, Greece Skopje, North Macedonia 3 Pool G 17.5 17–29 August 2024 Osijek, Croatia Gjilan, Kosovo Blaj, Romania 3 CSV (South America) 2023 South American Championship 25 19–23 August 2023 Recife, Brazil 5 NORCECA (North America) 2023 NORCECA Final Four 10 7–12 June 2023 Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico 4 2023 Pan-American Cup 10 4–14 August 2023 Ponce, Puerto Rico 10 2023 NORCECA Final Six 10 18–27 August 2023 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 6 2023 NORCECA Championship 25 29 August – 3 September 2023 Quebec City, Canada 7 2024 NORCECA Final Four 10 5–10 June 2024 Ponce, Puerto Rico 4 2024 NORCECA Final Six 10 24 June – 1 July 2024 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 6 2024 Pan-American Cup 10 18–25 August 2024 León and Irapuato, Mexico 12Total 22 World Ranking attributed tournaments 30 May 2023 – 29 August 2024 82
Entries Of FIVB's 222 national federations, 62 women's national teams entered or qualified for the Continental Championships in 2023, while Russia and Belarus were barred due to suspension from CEV and FIVB competitions following their country's invasion of Ukraine. For Europe, eleven additional teams entered the qualifiers of their Continental Championship. The other nine teams were listed in the FIVB World Ranking at the end of August 2024, but were not compete in their Continental Championships.
The entries, listed by confederation, with numbers in parentheses indicating final positions in the FIVB World Ranking at the end of August 2024 were: AVC (17 entries)
(61) (5) (46) (69) (59) β (60) (64) (7) (32) β (65) (75) (58) β (66) (37) (13) (78) (33)
CAVB (12 entries)
(47) (73) (79) (27) (36) (22) α (NR) (57) (51) (52) (62) (67)
CEV (38 entries)
(40) (35) (14) (41) (20) (34) α (NR) (15) (77) (50)