Hanoi, Vietnam, June 7, 2025 – Final preparations are in place for the highly-anticipated debut of the AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup, scheduled to take place from June 7 to 14 at the Dong Anh Gymnasium in Hanoi. Eleven national teams are set to compete for the prestigious title and the sole qualification spot for the 2026 Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship.
This newly rebranded competition, formerly known as the AVC Women’s Challenge Cup, is an annual international tournament jointly organized by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), Volleyball World, and the Volleyball Federation of Vietnam.
Dong Anh Gymnasium
In light of recent reforms to the FIVB Volleyball Nations League, which saw the discontinuation of the FIVB Challenger Cup as a direct qualification pathway, the AVC Women’s Nations Cup now assumes a crucial role. It provides national teams not currently participating in the Nations League with the chance to gain world ranking points and potentially secure entry into the top-tier global competition. Moreover, the tournament champions will earn a berth at the 2026 Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship, a key qualifier for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, and one of the routes to the 2027 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championship.
On Thursday morning, a joint meeting was convened at the competition venue, bringing together members of the Control Committee, chaired by Mr Hugh Graham of the Cook Islands, who also serves as AVC Secretary General, along with local organizers.
The meeting focused on finalizing operational, technical, and logistical details to ensure a smooth tournament kickoff.
Key Control Committee members included Technical Delegate Mr Huang Kuo-Kuang (Chinese Taipei), Technical Sub-Committee Ms Anelya Nurmagambetova (Kazakhstan).
Referee Delegate Mr Shigeru Koshiba (Japan), Referee Sub-Committee Mr Zhang Xin (China), Medical Delegate Dr Oh Jae-Keun (Korea), Competition Technology Director Mr Pavarit Dairinram (Thailand), Social Media Delegate Ms Mei Lin Timog Lozada (Philippines) and AVC Coordinator Ms Patana Kittichaisombat (Thailand) were also present in the meeting.
Local representatives included Mr Nguyen Dinh Phuc, General Director of Dong Anh Sports Center, and Ms Nguyen Thi Nhat Thanh, Director of International Relations & Events at the Volleyball Federation of Vietnam.
Following productive discussions, participants conducted a thorough venue inspection, confirming that the 2,650-seat Dong Anh Gymnasium is fully prepared to host the competition.
On Thursday evening, a Preliminary Inquiry was held to verify team documents, uniforms, and equipment.
Attendees included team managers, head coaches, and medical staff from all participating teams.
Referees underwent medical evaluations conducted by Dr Oh Jae-Keun and participated in a referee clinic, which included both theoretical and practical sessions led by Mr Shigeru Koshiba and Mr Zhang Xin.
The clinic also covered the Video Challenge System, which has been introduced to ensure fair play and accurate decision-making in line with international standards.
Referees will play a critical role in overseeing match procedures, including pre-match inspections, coin tosses, and strict rule enforcement.
On Sunday afternoon, the General Technical Meeting was held at the La Thanh Hotel, with participation from all Control Committee members, officiating referees, local organizers, working groups, and team officials. VFV Deputy Secretary General Mr Dao Xuan Chung and Control Committee President Mr Hugh Graham jointly presided over the meeting.
A total of 11 teams are confirmed for the tournament and are divided into two pools:
Pool A comprises hosts Vietnam, consecutive two-time AVC Challenge Cup champions, Australia, India, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong, China, with Pool B featuring Kazakhstan, Philippines, Iran, Indonesia, Mongolia and New Zealand.
The tournament will feature a round-robin preliminary stage from June 7–12, with a rest day scheduled for June 10. Each day will see five matches, and the top two teams from each pool after the preliminaries will advance to the cross semifinals on June 13.
The winners of the semifinals will meet in the final showdown on June 14, while classification matches will determine final standings. Notably, the fifth-ranked team in Pool A will play the sixth-ranked team in Pool B for 10th–11th place, while the third- and fourth-placed teams from both pools will compete for their respective rankings.
The opening day fixtures on June 7 sees Kazakhstan take on New Zealand, Australia challenge Chinese Taipei, Philippines play Mongolia, Iran meet Indonesia and Vietnam face Hong Kong, China.
With all systems in place, Vietnam is ready to stage a successful and memorable edition of the inaugural AVC Women’s Nations Cup, underscoring its commitment to promoting women’s volleyball across Asia.
MATCH SCHEDULE
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