The FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship 2025 will kick off on September 12 with the opening match between the hosting country, the Philippines, and Tunisia.
The 32 national teams that will take part in the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship, in the Philippines, are now familiar with what the start of their journeys in the tournament will be like as the event’s match schedule was released.
Set to take place from September 12-28 in the country’s capital Manila, and having the Smart Araneta Coliseum and the SM Mall of Asia Arena as venues, the 2025 World Championship will have 64 matches over the course of 17 days of action.
A single match will be held on the opening day, September 12, pitting hosts the Philippines, who are set to make their first-ever appearance in the event, and Tunisia, who will be competing for a seventh-straight time, against each other, at 19:00 local time (12:00 GMT), in a Pool A encounter.
International volleyball heavyweights the United States, Japan and Poland will all be on the court on the second day of action, September 13.
With new head coach Karch Kiraly on the sidelines, the Americans will meet Colombia, at 10:00 (3:00 GMT), in a Pool D encounter.
Japan, who will also have a new leader in French Olympic champion Laurent Tillie, will start their Pool G campaign at 14:00 (7:00 GMT), against Türkiye.
Three-time world champions and FIVB World Ranking leaders Poland will appear in the last match of the day, scheduled for 21:30 (14:30 GMT), when they battle fellow Europeans Romania in Pool B.
The debut of defending champions Italy will be one of the attractions of the third day of the event, September 14. The Europeans will bring the day to an end, meeting Algeria at 21:30 (14:30 GMT) in Pool F.
Reigning Olympic champions France will be another team to play on the day, as they start their Pool C campaign against Korea, at 18:00 (11:00 GMT).
Later, at 21:00 (14:00 GMT), three-time world champions Brazil make their Pool H debut against China.
Pool play will unfold from September 12 to September 19, with the top two national teams in each of the eight pools advancing. After a rest day, the elimination rounds begin on September 20 with the Round of 16, which will go until September 23, with two matches per day.
Two quarterfinal duels will be held on September 24 and another two on September 25. After another rest day, it will be time for the medal rounds, with the two semifinals taking place on September 27 and the bronze and gold medal matches ending the event on September 28.
The 2025 World Championship will be the first in the ‘new era’ of the tournament. Starting in this edition, the tournament will be held biannually and will have an expanded field, featuring 32 national teams per gender.