Ukraine, supported by the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program, is having an impressive debut season in the men`s Volleyball Nations League. During the second week of competition, they secured three additional victories, significantly boosting their standing and keeping them firmly within the qualification spots for the Finals. The program also supports five other men`s VNL teams. Among them, Cuba and Germany also achieved three wins each last week, positioning them just outside the advancement cutoff with one preliminary phase week remaining.
The FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program has actively supported the Ukraine Volleyball Federation since 2022 through an ongoing Memorandum of Understanding, providing total funding of USD 670,000 to help continue volleyball and beach volleyball activities. Ukraine`s men`s national team earned their place in VNL 2025 by being the highest-ranked team globally that had not yet qualified.
Competing in Burgas for the second VNL week, Ukraine faced a challenging start with a straight-set defeat against the reigning VNL and Olympic champions, France. However, they quickly returned to winning form by sweeping their second match against Turkiye. A notable achievement was their sensational 3-2 upset victory (24-26, 25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 15-13) over last year`s silver medalists, Japan. On the final day, Ukraine successfully navigated the loud home crowd support for Bulgaria, coming back from a set down to claim a 3-1 win (20-25, 25-19, 25-24, 25-22). Following Week 2, Ukraine is currently sixth in the VNL standings with a 5-3 win-loss record and 15 points.
The Federacion Cubana de Voleibol recently joined the list of national federations receiving FIVB Volleyball Empowerment funding, allocated USD 35,000 for coach support for their men`s national teams. Despite travel complications en route to Belgrade which limited rest time before their first match, head coach Jesus Angel Cruz Lopez`s team secured a 3-1 victory over Germany (19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-21). The Cuban squad went on to defeat hosts Serbia and the Netherlands, both in four sets, before a close five-set loss to Argentina in their final match of the week. Cuba finished the week in ninth place with a 4-4 record and 13 points.
The German Volleyball Federation has received a total of USD 168,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support. The German men`s team, guided by Polish head coach Michal Winiarski, bounced back from their initial loss to Cuba with three consecutive four-set victories against the Netherlands, Iran, and hosts Serbia. This performance places them eighth in the standings with a 4-4 record and 15 points, narrowly outside the Finals qualification threshold.
Players representing Germany and Cuba are currently leading the VNL 2025 best scorers list. German opposite Filip John is the most prolific scorer with 153 points, closely followed by Cuban outside hitter Marlon Yant with 149 points.
Among the other FIVB Volleyball Empowerment teams participating in the men`s VNL, Slovenia is ranked 12th (4-4 record, 11 points), Canada is 14th (3-5 record, 11 points), and the Netherlands is 17th (1-7 record, 4 points).
The top positions in the standings are held by Brazil (7-1 record, 20 points), Poland (6-2 record, 18 points), and Italy (6-2 record, 17 points). The other teams currently within the qualification zone for the Finals in China are Japan (5-3 record, 15 points), France (5-3 record, 15 points), and Argentina (5-3 record, 13 points).
The third and final week of the preliminary phase is scheduled from July 16 to 20, with pools hosted in Chiba, Japan; Gdansk, Poland; and Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Oliver Wrenwick 
Finley Blackwood