Alan Nine
Bulgaria opened their home EuroVolley campaign with an impressive straight-sets victory over Portugal in front of more than 10,000 spectators. Elsewhere, Perugia discovered their opponents at the Men’s Club World Championship, UYBA assessed the damage caused by a partial roof collapse at the e-work arena and Leipzig was named host of the 2027 Sitting Volleyball European Championships.
EuroVolley
Bulgaria made an impressive start to their home campaign in Sofia, defeating Portugal 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-20) in front of 10,678 spectators.
A. Nikolov led the scoring with 17 points as Bulgaria recorded a 60% attacking efficiency and nine blocks.
Ukraine also won in straight sets, defeating North Macedonia 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-10). Plotnytskyi scored 16 points, while Ukraine finished the match with 15 aces and eight blocks.
Elsewhere, Belgium defeated the Netherlands 3-1 in Tampere, with Deroo scoring 19 points and Reggers contributing 18.
Serbia were pushed much harder by Estonia before completing a four-set victory, winning 25-23, 26-24, 26-28 and 25-22. Luburic led the Serbian scoring with 20 points.
In the day’s other matches, the Czech Republic beat Greece 3-1, Slovenia defeated Slovakia in straight sets, Germany recorded a 3-0 win over Latvia and Romania overcame Switzerland in four sets.
Club World Championship
Defending champions Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia will face Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi, Al Ahly SC and Sada Cruzeiro in Pool B of the 2026 Men’s Club World Championship.
The eight-team tournament will take place in Poland from December 15 to 20.
Jakarta qualified as the 2026 Asian champions, while Al Ahly secured their place by winning the 2025/26 African title. Five-time world champions Sada Cruzeiro will renew their rivalry with Perugia after the two teams also met in the previous edition.
Pool A will feature hosts Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, Brazil’s Vôlei Renata, Turkey’s Ziraat Bankkart and Iran’s Foolad Sirjan Iranian.
The pool matches will be staged at Arena Katowice and Arena Sosnowiec, while the semi-finals and final will be played at the Częstochowa Sports Hall.
Perugia will be aiming to win the world title for the fourth time.
Italian Clubs
UYBA Volley are assessing the impact of a partial roof collapse in the foyer of the e-work arena in Busto Arsizio.
The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon while maintenance work was being carried out. Nobody was injured, and the first-team players had not yet arrived for training.
Firefighters evacuated the building and began carrying out safety inspections. UYBA said the club was working with its sponsors and partners to arrange alternative facilities for the first team and youth academy.
No alternative training venue or date for the reopening of the arena has yet been announced. The venue had been due to host the Trofeo Mimmo Fusco on September 18 and 19.
Allianz Arbit Diavoli Rosa, meanwhile, have begun their preseason campaign at the Volleyball Talents Cup Under-19 in Częstochowa.
The Serie A3 squad, made up of players from the club’s Under-19 and Under-17 programmes, are the only Italian representatives in the ten-team tournament.
Danilo Durand’s team will complete the pool stage on Saturday before playing their final classification matches on Sunday.
Sitting Volleyball
Leipzig will host the men’s and women’s 2027 Sitting Volleyball European Championships Division A from August 21 to 28, 2027.
The event will be organised by ParaVolley Europe and the German Disabled Sports Association.
For the first time, 24 national teams will take part, with 12 competing in each tournament, making this the largest edition of the championships to date.
The event will also form part of the qualification process for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games, although the number of places available and the qualifying format have yet to be announced.
