The Philippines wants to become one of the greatest volleyball grounds as it hosts the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Men's World Championship in 2025.
From September 12 to September 28, 2025, the first-time hosts Philippines will be home to the FIVB Men's World Championship, which will include 32 of the world's top volleyball nations.
After the Volleyball Nations League was successfully staged for two years, the World tournament hosting is one of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) attempts to bring volleyball closer to the Filipino people.
‘Feel like home’
PNVF president Tats Suzara reiterated the nation's complete commitment to taking on the challenge of hosting the largest men's volleyball championship in the world. This will only be the third time the global meet has taken place in Asia, with the previous two editions taking place in Japan (1998 and 2006).
“We will make them feel at home right at our own home,” said Suzara during the press conference at Marquis Events Place in Bonifacio Global City, attended by various volleyball stakeholders in the country.
Since Poland hosted the competition on its own in 2014, the upcoming global meet in the Philippines will also be the first to be held in a single nation.
"It shall definitely be a huge challenge, to mount the single-hosting model, to welcome 32 of the best teams in the world, the highest-ranking officials of the sport and most avid fans of the sport from every corner of the globe,” said Suzara.
“But if there is one thing that we, Filipinos, can do well, it is exactly this—to equally give each and every team the best conditions in order for them to fully focus on the competition and the championship trophy and to make them feel at home right in our own home,” he added.
Hope for a one-of-a-kind hosting
FIVB president Dr. Ary Graca announced that the Philippines had emerged victorious in the bidding process and expressed his hope for an unprecedented world championship.
“We are confident that the Philippines will host an extraordinary World Championship that will leave a lasting legacy and help cultivate an even brighter future for our sport globally,” Graca said following the announcement at the FIVB headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland
In addition to being the host nation, the Philippines also received an automatic spot to end a five-decade drought that had been going since its last participation in the 1974 tournament in Mexico.
The 32-team field is headlined by Poland, the Volleyball Nations League 2023 champion, and reigning world champion Italy
