Although the CEV was formed on 21 October 1963, in Bucharest, Romania[1] volleyball became popular in Europe many years before. The majority of the teams that attended the Congress which eventually led to the foundation of the FIVB in 1947 were from this continent. The foundation is supposed[by whom?] to have been a move on the part of European national federations.
Volleyball was invented in the United States and became an extremely popular sport in eastern Europe when introduced by American soldiers during World War I. By the middle of the century, it had spread through the rest of the continent. Many techniques and tactics commonplace in modern volleyball were introduced by European teams.
The long and significant tradition of the sport in the continent may at least partially account for the administrative structure employed by the CEV, which rivals the FIVB's in size and comprehensiveness. It is the biggest of all volleyball confederations and organizes the most annual competitions and tournaments. As of 2005, its headquarters are located in Luxembourg.
As the presiding entity over European volleyball federations, the CEV organizes continental competitions such as the prestigious European Championship (first edition, 1948), the CEV Cup and the European League. It participates in the organization of qualification tournaments for major events such as the Olympic Games, men's and women's world championships and international competitions of its affiliated federations.
The CEV family increased its membership to 56 Federations following the approval of Kosovo on the opening day of the 35th FIVB World Congress held on 5 October 2016, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Volleyball Confederation banned all Russian national teams, clubs and officials from participating in European competition, and suspended all Russians from their respective functions in CEV organs.[2] It also canceled all competitions in Russia.[3]
Affiliated federations
As of 2022, the following 56 national federations are CEV affiliates, listed alphabetically.
