Adoption

In June 2017, Argentinian website Voley Plus reported that the FIVB would drastically change the format for both the 2018 World League and World Grand Prix. According to the reports, starting from 2018, the World League and the World Grand Prix would have only one Group (no more Groups 1, 2 and 3) of 16 national teams.^[7][8]

In October 2017, the FIVB announced, via a press release, the creation of the men's and women's Volleyball Nations League, confirming the tournaments as a replacement for the World League and World Grand Prix.^[6]

According to the press release, the goal of the tournament would be to revolutionize volleyball competitions, making it one of the most important events in the history of the sport, presenting volleyball in a way that has never been experienced before, building on the innovative sports presentation on display at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and bringing the action closer to fans around the world. By pushing the boundaries of technology, innovation and digital broadcasting, spectators at home would witness new and diverse angles, showcasing the world class athleticism of each nation's best players.^[6]

For the very first time, the FIVB, in collaboration with the sports marketing company IMG, would take complete control of content production, maximizing quality and promoting a compelling on-court narrative, easier for fans to engage with and understand.^[6][9]

Digital

Microsoft, the multinational technology company, has signed an agreement with the FIVB that the international federation vows will change the way the sport of volleyball is consumed while heightening the fan experience during match days as well as in the digital space.^[12] Under the tie-up, the "Microsoft Sports Digital Platform" has been created to create new digital services and deliver personalised content on demand in order to boost the FIVB global audience and improve fan engagement.^[13]

Team awards

At the preliminary round, the winning team is awarded US$9,500 for every win and the losing team is awarded US$4,250.^[14]

Prize money allocated to teams based on their final place in the final round:

• Champions: US$1,000,000
• Runners-up: US$500,000
• 3rd place: US$300,000
• 4th place: US$180,000
• 5th place: US$130,000
• 6th place: US$85,000
• 7th place: US$65,000
• 8th place: US$40,000

Fair Play Award:

This first fair play award of US$15,000 was awarded to the men's team of Poland in VNL 2022 Finals as they admitted to touching the ball in blocking, or the net multiple times during Finals.

Starting from VNL 2023 finals, A new system of rewarding fair play is introduced. For the first time in international competition, green cards will be shown to players who admit to a block touch or a net touch and thus help save time from unnecessary video challenges. The team with the highest number of green cards received during the VNL Finals will be rewarded a cash prize of US$30,000. In case of a tie, the best-ranked team will be awarded.^[15]

Individual awards

The players selected into Dream Team will receive US$10,000 each while the MVP will be given US$30,000.^[16]

Previous format

As in the former World League, the competition will be divided in two phases, albeit with changes in the competition formula: a preliminary round, with a system of rotating host cities, and a final round played in a pre-selected host city.

The preliminary round is held over five weeks, versus three in the World League. Each week, the participating teams are organized in pools, and each team plays one match against all other teams in its pool. All games in a pool take place over a weekend in the same city.

When all matches of the preliminary round have been played, the top five teams in the overall standings qualify for the final round, and the remaining ones leave the competition. The host nation automatically qualifies for the final round.^[18]

16 national teams will compete in the inaugural edition of the tournament; 12 core teams, which are always qualified, and 4 challenger teams, which can face relegation.^[18]

• Preliminary round

The 16 teams compete in round-robin tournament, with every core team hosting a pool at least once. The teams are divided into 4 pools of 4 teams in each week and compete five weeks long, with a total of 120 matches. The top five teams after the round-robin tournament join the hosts in the final round.^[18] The relegation will consider the four challenger teams and the last ranked challenger team will be excluded from the next edition. The winners of the Challenger Cup would qualify for the next edition as a challenger team.^[19][20]

• Final round

The six qualified teams play in 2 pools of 3 teams in a round-robin format. The top 2 teams of each pool qualify for the semifinals. The first ranked teams play against the second ranked teams in this round. The winners of the semifinals advance to compete for the Nations League title.^[18]

New format

The new format is applied to 2022 edition. The whole competition still be divided into two phases: The pool phase and the Finals.^[21]

• Pool phase

The 16 teams will be divided into 2 groups of eight. Each team will play with 12 matches during the three weeks of the preliminary round. Two pools of eight teams will compete in four matches of six days of competition (Tuesday – Sunday). The new competition format allows for a one-week gap between events. The total number of matches in the pool phase will be 96.

• The finals

The Finals will see the eight strongest teams moving directly to the knockout phase which will consist of eight matches in total: four quarterfinals, two semi-finals and the bronze and gold medal matches. The total number of matches in the final phase will be 8.

New VNL qualification system

The lowest ranked Challenger team of the current edition of the VNL will play the Volleyball Challenger Cup (VCC) held after the VNL. The winner of the current edition of the VCC shall be promoted and compete in the next edition of the VNL.^[23]