// SPORTS / VOLLEYBALL / WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
World Championship.
First played in Prague in 1949. Held every four years until 2022, and every two years from 2025.
FIRST · 1949 TCHNEXT · 2027 POLAND21 EDITIONS7 CHAMPIONSMEN
EDITIONS COMPLETED
1949 → 2025
21
MOST TITLES
USSR · 6 titles
URS
NEXT EDITION
Poland · 10 Sep 2027
2027
QUICK ANSWERS
World Championship: the short version.
- Who has won the most FIVB Men's World Championship titles?
- USSR, with 6 titles (1949, 1952, 1960, 1962, 1978, 1982).
- Who won the last FIVB Men's World Championship?
- Italy won the 2025 FIVB Men's World Championship in the Philippines, beating Bulgaria 3–1 in the final.
- When and where is the next FIVB Men's World Championship?
- The next FIVB Men's World Championship is in Poland, from 10 Sep 2027 to 26 Sep 2027. 32 teams take part.
- How many times has the FIVB Men's World Championship been held?
- 21 times, from 1949 to 2025.
- Which countries have won the FIVB Men's World Championship?
- 7 nations have won it: USSR (6), Italy (5), Brazil (3), Poland (3), Czechoslovakia (2), East Germany (1) and United States (1).
01 · TIMELINE
Drag the scrubber. Travel 80 years.
Each node opens that edition's full report.
EDITION
2025
HOST
Philippines
32 TEAMS
CHAMPION
ItalyRUNNER-UP · BULGARIA
1949
1952
1956
1960
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2025
Italy
2027
2029
◀ DRAG · ARROW KEYS · OR TAP ▶
03 · THE RECORD
Every edition.
Every host, champion, runner-up and final result. Tap a row for the full report.
| YEAR | HOST | CHAMPION | RUNNER-UP | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2029 | Qatar | UPCOMING | — | — |
| 2027 | Poland | UPCOMING | — | — |
| 2025 | Philippines | |  | 3–1 |
| 2022 | Poland & Slovenia | |  | 3–1 |
| 2018 | Italy & Bulgaria | |  | 3–0 |
| 2014 | Poland | | | 3–1 |
| 2010 | Italy | |  | 3–0 |
| 2006 | Japan | | | 3–0 |
| 2002 | Argentina | |  | 3–2 |
| 1998 | Japan | | 3–0 | |
| 1994 | Greece | |  | 3–1 |
| 1990 | Brazil | | | 3–1 |
| 1986 | France |  | — | |
| 1982 | Argentina | | — | |
| 1978 | Italy | | — | |
| 1974 | Mexico | | — | |
| 1970 | Bulgaria | | — | |
| 1966 | Czechoslovakia |  | — | |
| 1962 | USSR | — | ||
| 1960 | Brazil | — |
04 · STATS
The numbers, drawn.
Pick a metric. Titles are counted by the name the team competed under.
CHAMPIONS · COUNT
URS6
ITA5BRA3POL3TCH2
GDR1
USA106 · TRIVIA
Hover or tap to flip.
Facts we'd bet on at the pub. Test yourself.
07 · WHAT'S NEXT