Turkish Volleyball Federation prepares for 2026 European Championship

The Turkish Volleyball Federation (TVF) held a National Teams Gala Night in Istanbul to celebrate recent successes and prepare for the 2026 CEV European Championship. TVF President Mehmet Akif Üstündağ expressed pride in the national teams and emphasized the goal of securing Olympic medals for both men and women.

The 2026 CEV Women's European Championship is scheduled to take place from August 21 to September 6, 2026. The tournament will be co-hosted by Turkey, Czechia, Azerbaijan, and Sweden. The Turkish national team is set to compete in a group stage against Latvia, Slovenia, Hungary, Germany, and Poland, with all matches scheduled for 19:00 local time.

National team coach Daniele Santarelli confirmed his commitment to working in Turkey through the end of the Olympic cycle. However, he criticized the current foreign player regulations in the Sultanlar Ligi. Santarelli argued that increasing the number of allowed foreign players would improve the overall level of Turkish volleyball by encouraging high-quality domestic players to distribute more evenly across different clubs rather than concentrating in a few top teams.