The FIVB has published a proposed qualifying system for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The system, put forth by the Board of Directors, will be confirmed only after approval and ratification by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Indoor Qualifying
Japan, whose men have qualified only once in the last 6 Olympics (2008), and whose women placed 5th last year and won bronze in London, will be the first of 12 teams locked in.
The next 3 teams will qualify from the World Olympic Qualification tournament, and a further 3 will come from the International Olympic Qualification tournament. That brings the teams qualified up to 7, with the remaining 5 spots filled as a result of each of the 5 continental championships (Europe, Asia, NORCECA, South America, Asia-Oceania).
This is a slight change from the 2016 Olympics, where in addition to the hosts Brazil and the 5 continental champions, there were 2 teams invited from the 2015 World Cup, 3 teams invited from the 1st Worlds qualifier, and just 1 team (Mexico) from the 2nd Worlds qualifier.
In 2016, the men’s tournament included:
- 4 European teams (Italy, Russia, Poland, France)
- 2 South American teams (Brazil, Argentina)
- 4 NORCECA teams (United States, Canada, Cuba, Mexico)
- 1 Asian-Oceania team (Iran)
- 1 African team (Egypt)
The men’s tournament included:
- 4 European teams (Serbia, Russia, Italy, Netherlands)
- 2 South American teams (Brazil, Argentina)
- 2 NORCECA teams (United States, Puerto Rico)
- 3 Asian-Oceania teams (China, Japan, South Korea)
- 1 African team (Cameroon)
The table below outlines who gets invited to each of the qualification tournaments and how many spots are allocated from those tournaments:
Beach Tournament
The Olympic beach tournament will include 24 teams per tournament, with qualification spots allocated to national federations, rather than specific teams. The national federations then declare the teams that they will send to the Olympics, with each nation allowed to send a maximum of 2 teams per gender.
Japan, again, gets an automatic bid as the hosts. Then there will be a World Olympic Qualification tournament that chooses 2 spots (per gender). The country of the 2019 World Champions will receive invites to the Olympics, 15 teams will be chosen by the FIVB “Olympic rankings” system, and finally 1 per confederation will be chosen at the Continental Cup Finals.
The table below summarizes qualifying for the beach tournament:
The specific dates of the tournament have not yet been scheduled. Indoor volleyball will be held at the planned 12,000 seat Ariake Arena, while beach volleyball will be held in the 12,000 seat outdoor Shiokaze Park.
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