The FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League is an international volleyball competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of the sport's global governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB).
The first tournament took place in 2018 - with the final being hosted by Nanjing, China - and it replaced the World Grand Prix which began in 1993. The United States won the inaugural edition by defeating Turkey in the final. The creation of the tournament was a joint project between the FIVB, the IMG, and 21 national federations. The competition is fiercely competitive with the players showing a strong desire to perform well for their countries.
Format & Scoring
As in the former competition (the World League), the Nations League is divided into 2 phases: a preliminary round, with a system of rotating host cities, and a final round played in a host city.
The preliminary round is held over 3 weeks, each separated by a rest period. Each week, the participating teams are organised in pools, and each team plays one match against all other teams in its pool. All games in a pool take place over a week in the same city. When all matches of the preliminary round have been played, the top 5 teams in the overall standings qualify for the final round.
18 national teams will compete in the tournament; 12 core teams, which always qualify, and 6 challenger teams, which can face relegation.
