Women’s Volleyball Club World Championship in São Paulo

BRAZIL · VOLLEYBALL

The 19th FIVB Women’s Volleyball Club World Championship returns to São Paulo from Tuesday 8 December to Sunday 13 December 2026, with eight clubs from four continents playing 16 matches at the Wlamir Marques gymnasium in the Tatuapé district. Tickets are sold through Ticketmaster Brazil, and the 2025 edition sold out within 40 minutes of going on sale.

For US readers, no club from the United States is among the eight confirmed teams, so the event is a Brazil, Türkiye, Japan, Peru, Kazakhstan and Egypt story this year. The federation behind it, the FIVB, is the world governing body of volleyball, and its Volleyball World website is the primary source for this guide.

São Paulo stays on UTC-3 all year and New York is on UTC-5 from 1 November 2026, so São Paulo is two hours ahead of Eastern time for the whole tournament. Session times were not published in the sources we could open, and the Women’s Volleyball Club World Championship page of the organiser should be checked before you travel.

Dates, Venue and Format

The tournament runs from 8 to 13 December 2026 at the Ginásio Poliesportivo Wlamir Marques, a covered gymnasium at the headquarters of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista in Tatuapé, in east São Paulo. Gazeta Esportiva, a Brazilian sports site, puts the capacity at about 7,000 people.

Pool matches are on Tuesday 8, Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 December, with two sessions of two matches each day, and the sources list no matches on Friday 11 December. The semi-finals are on Saturday 12 December, and the bronze-medal match and the final are on Sunday 13 December.

The eight clubs are split into two pools of four, and each team plays the other three once. The top two in each pool reach the semi-finals, where each pool winner meets the runner-up of the other pool.

That adds up to 16 matches, made up of 12 pool matches, two semi-finals, the bronze-medal match and the final. The gymnasium is a different building from the Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu, which hosted the 2025 edition, so 2025 seating plans and travel routes do not apply.

The Eight Teams and Two Pools

The field was confirmed on 8 September 2026, and the Brazilian newspaper A Crítica lists Pool A as Osasco, NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki of Japan, Eczacıbaşı of Türkiye and Club Alianza Lima of Peru. It lists Pool B as VakıfBank of Türkiye, SESI Vôlei Bauru, Al Ahly of Egypt and Zhetysu of Kazakhstan.

Osasco São Cristóvão Saúde is the host club from Greater São Paulo and won the world title in 2012, and its roster includes the Italian setter Marta Bechis and the Polish opposite Magdalena Stysiak. SESI Vôlei Bauru earned its place by winning the South American Club Championship in Lima in February, its first win in that event.

VakıfBank qualified by winning the CEV Champions League, Europe’s top club competition, and has won the world title four times, in 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2021. Eczacıbaşı, the other Turkish club, was European runner-up and has won three titles, in 2015, 2016 and 2023.

NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki qualified through the AVC Champions League in Asia and finished sixth at the 2024 tournament, while Club Alianza Lima finished sixth in 2025 and qualified again by taking third place at this year’s South American championship. Zhetysu finished seventh in 2025, and Al Ahly, the reigning African club champion, makes its debut.

Tickets and Prices

Ticketmaster Brazil, at ticketmaster.com.br, is the official seller, and Volleyball World says tickets are sold by session, with each ticket covering two matches. The presale began on Saturday 8 August 2026, and Volleyball World gave Thursday 27 August 2026 as the start of general sales.

Gazeta Esportiva published presale prices of R$100 (about US$20) for a full-price ticket and R$50 (about US$10) for a half-price ticket, the discount Brazil gives students, older people and other eligible groups. It also listed an all-days passport from R$1,300 (about US$258), sold only during the presale.

A later report from Máquina do Esporte, dated 15 September 2026, said tickets start at R$57.50 (about US$11), and it did not say whether any session had sold out. All conversions here use the Central Bank of Brazil’s PTAX selling rate of R$5.038 per US dollar on 22 October 2026.

The 2025 edition sold out within 40 minutes, according to Volleyball World, so check Ticketmaster now for the sessions you want. A new Experiência Quadra area close to the court, with food and drinks, is planned for 2026, and no price for it has been published.

Match Times in São Paulo and US Eastern Time

Brazil abolished daylight saving time in 2019 and São Paulo stays on UTC-3 all year, while New York is on UTC-5 from 1 November 2026 until US clocks go forward again in March 2027. São Paulo is therefore two hours ahead of New York and Miami, three hours ahead of Chicago, four ahead of Denver and five ahead of Los Angeles.

A match that starts at 7 p.m. in São Paulo starts at 5 p.m. in New York and 2 p.m. in Los Angeles. The organiser had not published session times in the sources we could read, so use the Ticketmaster listing for the real start times.

How to Watch From the US

Volleyball World TV, the federation’s streaming service, streamed the 2025 edition outside Brazil, according to NSC Total, but no source we could open says it will show the 2026 matches. Whether it is available in the United States is not confirmed, so check the Volleyball World site before the first match on 8 December.

Máquina do Esporte reports that Sportv will show the matches on pay TV in Brazil, with ge tv streaming them free on YouTube and Globoplay carrying the channels’ programming. In 2025 the free Brazilian broadcast was on the CazéTV YouTube channel, and availability of the 2026 Brazilian services outside Brazil is not confirmed.

São Paulo and the History of the Tournament

São Paulo hosted the competition in 1991, 1994 and 2025, and 2026 is its fourth time and the second year in a row. Leite Moça Sorocaba won the 1994 edition in the city and became the first Brazilian world club champion, according to Agência Brasil, the state news agency.

In 2025 Scandicci of Italy beat Conegliano 3-1 in the final at the Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu, and Osasco beat Dentil Praia Clube 3-0 for third place. Osasco won its only world title in 2012 in Doha, Qatar, so a home title this December would be its second.

What It Means for You

Buy tickets first and book flights and hotels second, because the 2025 edition sold out within 40 minutes. The pool matches fall on Tuesday 8, Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 December, which are working days, while the semi-finals and the final fall on a weekend.

Our São Paulo city guide covers neighbourhoods and getting around, and the Rio Times Brazil hub has the national picture. Two other big São Paulo events are covered in our guides to the Alcaraz and Fonseca super match and Karol G at Pacaembu.

What Is Not Known

Match times and the day-by-day order of games have not been published in any source we could read, and the sources do not say whether Friday 11 December is a rest day. Volleyball World describes each ticket as a pass for a session of two matches, while Gazeta Esportiva quotes prices per match, and the two descriptions have not been reconciled.

Current ticket prices, availability and sold-out sessions could not be checked because the Ticketmaster Brazil site blocked our access, and the R$57.50 starting price (about US$11) does not match the R$100 (about US$20) presale quote. Broadcast rights outside Brazil, including in the United States, are not confirmed.

The pool line-ups come from A Crítica and were not on the Volleyball World page we read, so confirm them on the official site. Prize money and the exact capacity for volleyball are also not stated by the organiser in the pages we read.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Women’s Volleyball Club World Championship 2026?

It runs from Tuesday 8 to Sunday 13 December 2026 in São Paulo, with pool matches on 8, 9 and 10 December, semi-finals on Saturday 12 December and the bronze-medal match and final on Sunday 13 December. The venue is the Ginásio Poliesportivo Wlamir Marques in the Tatuapé district.

Where can I buy tickets for the volleyball club world championship?

Ticketmaster Brazil, at ticketmaster.com.br, is the official seller, and the press quoted presale prices from R$50 (about US$10) to R$100 (about US$20) and tickets from R$57.50 (about US$11) in September. Check the site for current prices and availability, because the 2025 edition sold out within 40 minutes.

Which teams play in the 2026 championship?

Eight clubs play: Osasco, SESI Vôlei Bauru, Club Alianza Lima, VakıfBank, Eczacıbaşı, NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki, Zhetysu and Al Ahly. None of them is from the United States.

Sources: Volleyball World, eight teams confirmed, 8 September 2026; Volleyball World, São Paulo to host, 4 August 2026; A Crítica, pools and teams, 8 September 2026; Gazeta Esportiva, presale and prices, 7 August 2026; Máquina do Esporte, tickets and broadcast, 15 September 2026; Agência Brasil via Tribuna do Sertão, 5 August 2026; NSC Total, where to watch the 2025 edition, 27 November 2025; Lance, 4 August 2026; Central Bank of Brazil, PTAX rate, 22 October 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief