How to qualify in Volleyball
How beach volleyball teams qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
Beach volleyball at Los Angeles 2028 has a men's and a women's tournament of 24 pairs each. A country can have at most two pairs per gender.
Places already won at the 2026 continental championships:
| Continent | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | Sweden | Netherlands |
| Africa | Morocco | Nigeria |
| Asia (with Oceania) | Australia | Australia |
| South America | Brazil | Brazil |
| North and Central America | To be decided (4 to 9 November 2026) | To be decided |
Asia's championship was won by Australia, so there is no Asian place for India this way.
The rest:
- The 2027 World Championships in the Netherlands: the winners in each gender.
- The Olympic Ranking in March 2028: 14 pairs per gender, by far the biggest route. A pair needs at least eight events on the Beach Pro Tour or at the 2027 World Championships to be ranked.
- Three Olympic Q-Series events in May and June 2028 (Shanghai, Montreal, Orlando): the winner of each.
- The United States as host: one pair per gender.
The places
| Men | Women | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 continental championships or tour finals | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 2027 World Championships | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Olympic Ranking | 14 | 14 | 28 |
| Olympic Q-Series | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Host country | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Pairs | 24 | 24 | 48 |
Places go to the country, which picks its players. Each player can win only one place for their country.
Who can play
- Tested for doping during the qualifying period, 1 August 2026 to 11 June 2028.
- For a place from the World Championships, the Olympic Ranking or the Q-Series: at least eight events among the 2027 World Championships, the Beach Pro Tour (Elite and Challenge) and the Q-Series.
- For a place from the continental championships or the host place: at least six events among continental championships or tour finals, continental, national or zonal tours, recognised multi-sport games and FIVB events.
- Either way, the country picks from its 12 highest-ranked eligible players on the Olympic Ranking of 12 June 2028.
Route 1: continental championships or tour finals, 2026
Held between 1 August and 15 November 2026. The winning pair of each gender takes a place, if enough countries took part. South America needs seven countries per gender; the other four continents need 16.
Route 2: the 2027 World Championships
The winners take a place. If they already won one in 2026, the place goes to the next pair on the Olympic Ranking.
Route 3: the Olympic Ranking (14 per gender)
FIVB ranking points from the 2027 World Championships and the Beach Pro Tour, with a cut-off between 29 February and 31 March 2028 (date to be confirmed). The 14 highest pairs take places, at most two per country. A pair needs at least eight of those events together. Ties: total points from 1 November 2026 to the cut-off; then events played; then the best single result; then a draw.
Route 4: Olympic Q-Series (3 per gender)
11 to 14 May 2028 in Shanghai, 1 to 4 June 2028 in Montreal and 8 to 11 June 2028 in Orlando. 16 pairs per gender at each; the winner takes a place. Players who already won a place cannot enter, nor can countries with two places.
The host country
The United States gets one pair per gender and can win a second through the other routes.
National trials
A country with places may hold national Olympic trials to pick its pairs, telling the FIVB at least ten working days before.
Places turned down
| Place | Goes to |
|---|---|
| World Championships or Olympic Ranking | The next pair on the Olympic Ranking |
| Q-Series or continental | The next pair at that event |
| Host | The next pair on the Olympic Ranking |
Dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 August to 15 November 2026 | Continental championships (four done; North and Central America 4 to 9 November) |
| By 23 November 2026 | FIVB confirms the continental places |
| 31 December 2026 | The United States confirms its host places |
| August 2027 | World Championships, the Netherlands |
| 29 February to 31 March 2028 | Olympic Ranking cut-off (date to be confirmed) |
| 11 May to 11 June 2028 | Olympic Q-Series |
| 19 to 24 June 2028 | Final confirmation and reallocation |
| 26 June 2028 | Entries deadline for the Games |
| 14 to 30 July 2028 | LA28 Olympic Games |
A date that does not fit. The Olympic Ranking section once says "date TBC in 2026" for the ranking list; every other mention gives a cut-off in February or March 2028.
Where to follow it
fivb.com publishes the Olympic Ranking and results.
How volleyball teams qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
Volleyball at Los Angeles 2028 has a men's and a women's tournament of 12 teams each.
Ten places are already decided. The winners of the 2026 continental championships, held in August and September 2026, qualified:
| Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| Asia | Japan | Thailand |
| Europe | Poland | Turkey |
| Africa | Tunisia | Egypt |
| South America | Brazil | Brazil |
| North America (NORCECA) | Cuba | Canada |
India did not win the Asian Championship in either gender, so it has no place yet.
The rest:
- The 2027 World Cup: the top three teams not yet qualified in each gender (women, 20 August to 5 September 2027 in the United States and Canada; men, 10 to 26 September 2027 in Poland).
- The FIVB World Ranking in June 2028: three more per gender, first to countries from a continent with no team yet.
- The United States as host.
For India, the World Cup is the next chance: it has 32 teams, including the top three from each 2026 continental championship and 15 more from the world ranking at the end of the 2026 season.
The places
| Men | Women | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 continental champions | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 2027 World Cup | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| World Ranking, June 2028 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Host country | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Teams | 12 | 12 | 24 |
12 players per team. Places go to the country, which picks its players on its federation's advice. Countries had to register before each route began.
Who can play: players tested for doping during the qualifying period (26 June 2026 to 26 June 2028) and meeting articles 1 to 5 of the FIVB Sports Regulations.
Route 1: the 2026 continental championships
The winner of each championship qualified. At the NORCECA championships the United States played but, already in as host, was set aside: the top four other teams then played semi-finals and a final for the place.
Route 2: the 2027 World Cup (32 teams per gender)
| Places | From |
|---|---|
| 1 | The host (up to four hosts possible) |
| 1 | The 2025 world champions |
| 15 | The top three eligible teams from each 2026 continental championship |
| 15 | The FIVB World Ranking at the end of the 2026 season (fewer if there is more than one host) |
Eight pools of four, then a round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. The three best-placed teams not yet qualified go to LA28.
Route 3: the World Ranking (3 per gender)
After the preliminary phase of the 2028 Volleyball Nations League: 11 June 2028 for women (to be confirmed), 18 June 2028 for men. Priority first to teams from a continent with no team qualified, then to other teams.
The host country
The United States, one team per gender. An unused host place would go to the top-ranked team not yet qualified on the June 2028 ranking.
Places turned down
The next-highest team not yet qualified at the same event.
Dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 21 August to 27 September 2026 | Continental championships (done) |
| 20 August to 5 September 2027 | Women's World Cup, United States and Canada |
| 10 to 26 September 2027 | Men's World Cup, Poland |
| 11 June 2028 (to be confirmed) | Women's World Ranking places |
| 18 June 2028 | Men's World Ranking places |
| 26 June 2028 | Entries deadline for the Games |
| 14 to 30 July 2028 | LA28 Olympic Games |
A date that does not fit. Section E.2 has the host confirming its places by 1 September 2026; the timeline says 1 August 2026.
Where to follow it
fivb.com publishes results and the world ranking.