Sofia will officially host a men’s Volleyball Nations League tournament in 2028. The matches will be played from May 20 to 24 at Arena 8888 Sofia, with the capital set to host the second of the three tournaments in the preliminary phase.
Bulgarian Volleyball Federation President Lyubomir Ganev announced that the procedure had been completed and the contract had already been signed. “Today, we finally signed the contract for the 2028 Volleyball Nations League. We will host a tournament in Sofia,” Ganev said. According to him, the federation received the signed document from Volleyball World and the International Volleyball Federation.
The choice of 2028 is linked to the Olympic cycle for the Los Angeles Games. The preliminary phase of the Volleyball Nations League will count toward the world rankings, which will determine the final three Olympic berths among the men’s teams that have not secured participation by that point.
Because it is an Olympic year, the international season calendar will be brought forward so that the competition can conclude by June. This places the Sofia tournament in a period when the results will matter not only for the Volleyball Nations League standings but also for the fight to qualify for the Olympic tournament.
The hosting fee for the 2028 tournament will be $350,000. For similar tournaments in 2025 and 2027, it was $250,000, representing an increase of 40 percent.
The Bulgarian Volleyball Federation has already expressed interest in hosting the Volleyball Nations League finals in 2029. According to Lyubomir Ganev, the required fee for such an event will be between $1.5 million and $2 million.
Bulgaria will also host an event in 2027, when Burgas will welcome a men’s Volleyball Nations League tournament. The planned period is June 18–27, and the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation plans to increase the capacity of Arena Burgas from 6,300 to 7,300 seats.
Thus, the country will host tournaments from the prestigious competition in two consecutive years, while Sofia will host the matches in the key Olympic qualification season of 2028.