Tunis to Host 13 Teams at 2026 African Men’s Volleyball Championship
Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail
The 2026 CAVB Men’s Volleyball African Nations Championship will begin on Tuesday, September 15, in Tunis, Tunisia, with 13 national teams competing for continental honors and qualification spots for major international tournaments.
The championship will run until September 25, when the medal matches will determine the African champion. The tournament also carries significant qualification value, with the winner earning Africa’s place in the men’s volleyball event at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
In addition, three teams from the competition will secure qualification for the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup in Poland.
Tournament Moved to Tunisia
The championship was originally scheduled to take place in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, health and safety concerns linked to an Ebola outbreak forced organizers to change the venue and postpone the tournament by 10 days.
Tunis has now been selected to host the competition, with the opening match scheduled for Tuesday morning.
The 13 participating teams have been divided into four pools. All teams will have a route into the knockout stage, which begins with the round of 16 before moving on to the quarterfinals, semifinals and medal matches.
The winners of Pools A, C and D will advance directly to the quarterfinals. The other 10 teams will compete in five round-of-16 matches to determine the remaining quarterfinalists.
Tunisia Leads Pool A
Hosts Tunisia headline Pool A alongside Kenya and Ghana.
Ranked 44th in the FIVB world rankings, Tunisia are currently the second-highest-ranked African side. They are also the most successful team in African Nations Championship history, having won 11 titles, along with seven silver and two bronze medals.
However, Tunisia will be looking to improve on their 2023 performance, when they failed to reach the podium for the first time since 2009.
Defending Champions Egypt in Pool B
Defending champions Egypt will lead Pool B. Ranked 26th in the world, Egypt are the highest-ranked African team entering the tournament.
Egypt captured their ninth African Nations Championship title in 2023 and also have six silver and three bronze medals from previous editions.
Morocco and Gambia will join Egypt in Pool B. Morocco have won three bronze medals in the competition, with their most recent podium finish coming in 2015.
The tournament will officially begin at 9:00 a.m. local time on September 15, with Egypt facing Gambia in the opening Pool B match.
Algeria and Nigeria Headline Pool C
Nigeria, ranked 53rd in the world, will be the highest-ranked team in Pool C.
Nigeria have one medal in African Nations Championship history — a silver won in 2001 when they hosted the tournament.
They will face Algeria and Chad in the group stage. Algeria finished as runners-up in the previous edition and have won two African titles, in 1991 and 1993. They also have four silver and six bronze medals.
Cameroon Leads Four-Team Pool D
Pool D is the only group featuring four teams. Cameroon, ranked 54th in the world and fourth among African nations, will headline the pool.
Cameroon have won two African titles, in 1989 and 2001, in addition to five silver and five bronze medals. Their most recent podium finish came in 2021, when they claimed silver, while they finished fourth in the 2023 championship.
Central Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda complete Pool D.
Major Qualification Opportunity
The 2026 African Nations Championship represents more than a continental title race. Teams will also be competing for qualification opportunities on the global stage.
The champion will earn Africa’s qualification spot for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, while three teams will qualify for the 2027 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Cup in Poland.
With the competition featuring several of Africa’s leading volleyball nations, the tournament is expected to produce a closely contested battle for both the continental crown and international qualification places.
