Vietnamese volleyball receives sad news during the 2026 Lunar New Year.

Vietnam's volleyball teams are set to compete in several key competitions throughout 2026.

Contrary to the initial expectation of having two spots for the 2026 Asian Championship, Vietnamese volleyball has only been granted one official slot by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC). This news brings some disappointment as the 2026 international season approaches.

According to the AVC announcement, the Vietnam women's volleyball team is included among the 12 teams participating in the 2026 Asian Championship, which will be held in China from August 21 to August 30.

More than two years ago, at the 2023 Asian Championship, the Vietnam women's team made a remarkable impression by finishing in 4th place — their best result in the tournament's history — including a thrilling 3-2 victory over South Korea. In the same year, Trần Thị Thanh Thúy and her teammates also secured 4th place at the 19th ASIAD, again defeating South Korea with the same score.

However, the Vietnam men's volleyball team is not listed among the 12 teams for the 2026 Asian Championship. The official slots belong to Japan (host), Australia, Bahrain, China, India, Iran, South Korea, New Zealand, Oman, Qatar, Chinese Taipei, and Thailand. This is unfortunate, especially since the men's team was also not granted entry to the 2026 AVC Cup.

Nevertheless, the men's team still plans to focus on preparing for other international tasks such as the 2026 AVC Champions League (under the club name replacing Biên Phòng), two legs of the 2026 SEA V.League, and the 20th ASIAD (with participation still uncertain).