The inaugural edition of the AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup is just about to get underway in the Bahraini capital Manama, with 11 Asian men’s national teams vying for the prestigious trophy, a spot at the 2026 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship and precious FIVB World Ranking points. And it will be all streamed live on VBTV from June 17 to 24.

• Watch the AVC Men's Volleyball Nations Cup on VBTV

The format of the men’s AVC Nations Cup will be different from the format of the women’s edition that came to a completion in Vietnam last week. The participating teams were split into four round-robin pools. Three of the pools will feature three teams each. With Kazakhstan’s last-minute withdrawal from the competition, one of the pools will have only two teams. All pool winners and pool runners-up will advance to the quarterfinals, while the third-placed teams will continue the race for the distribution of the places from ninth to 11^th in the final tournament standings.

Hosts Bahrain, AVC Challenge Cup runners-up in 2023, headline Pool A. They will open their campaign with a game against Thailand on Tuesday, June 17, at 19:00 local time (16:00 UTC). Indonesia are the third member of the pool.

Defending 2024 champions Qatar and Australia comprise Pool B. They will join the competition on Thursday at 11:30 (08:30). Standing at number 24 in the FIVB World Ranking, Qatar are also the highest ranked team among all AVC Nations Cup participants. The Aussies are ranked 33^rd.

Last year’s silver medalists Pakistan will play in this year’s opening match, a Pool C fixture against the Philippines, starting at 14:00 (11:00) on Tuesday. The pool also features Chinese Taipei.

The team of Korea, bronze medalists of the last two AVC Challenge Cup editions and ranked 27^th in the world, will meet Vietnam in a remake of the 2023 third-place match in Pool D’s closing fixture on Thursday. On Tuesday’s opening day, Korea will take on New Zealand at 16:30 (13:30).

The newly rebranded competition, previously known as the AVC Men’s Challenge Cup, is an annual continental tournament. In light of recent reforms in the Volleyball Nations League, the AVC Men’s Nations Cup now assumes a crucial role. It provides national teams not currently participating in the VNL the chance to gain FIVB Volleyball 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 Men’s Volleyball Championship, a key qualifier for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, and one of the routes to the 2027 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship.

AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup 2025: full match schedule

Quick links:
AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup 2025
VBTV
Volleyball World Facebook
Volleyball World X
Volleyball World Instagram
Volleyball World YouTube
Subscribe to Volleyball World's Newsletter