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Here’s what you need to know ahead of the 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship in Manila this September.
In less than a month’s time, 32 of the world’s best men’s volleyball teams will be converging in Manila for the 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship.
World number one Poland seeks to reclaim the crown it last won in 2018, while defending champions Italy hope to go back-to-back. Also part of that 32-team field will be host team Alas Pilipinas, who will make their historic debut at the world championships. Fan favorites, namely Japan and the United States, will likewise try to make a splash as well.
Ahead of the global tilt, here is a guide from The GAME on what you need to know about this year’s world championship staging in the Philippines.
Schedule, format, and pools
The World Championships will run from September 12 to 28 — 17 straight days of high-level volleyball matches. Most of the games will be played at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, with the SMART Araneta Coliseum being used for the pool phase.
According to the competition page, pool phase is scheduled to run from September 12 to 18, with only the top two teams advancing to the Round of 16, which will be played from September 20 to 23.
Here are the eight pools, with Alas Pilipinas being slotted into Pool A as the host team:
Quarterfinals are scheduled for September 24 to 25, while the semifinals will be held on September 27 to determine the cast for the finals and battle for bronze on September 28.
Where can I buy my tickets? And where else can I watch?
Fans may purchase their tickets at either Ticketnet for Araneta Coliseum game days or SM Tickets for MOA Arena play dates. Prices, however, will vary depending on the matches to be played and whether it will be the morning or evening sessions.
Philippine National Volleyball Federation and Asian Volleyball Confederation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara also confirmed that special ticket packages will also be available through schools and local government units.
“Lalo na ‘yung mga matches na hindi pa masyadong popular, we need to promote it. So we’re giving special packages sa mga schools, students, and lahat ng mga LGUs,” Suzara said during the World Championship launch event held last August 13.
Broadcast giant Cignal has also been named as the Philippines’ exclusive broadcaster, meaning that fans may also catch the games live through their platforms such as Pilipinas Live, One Sports, One Sports Plus, RPTV, Cignal Play, and Cignal Super.
Volleyball World’s VBTV platform is another option for avid fans or those who will be watching the games from the comfort of their homes abroad.
Who will be playing?
As of now, only the provisional 21-man rosters are available across the 32-team playing field, with the final 14-man lineups set to be released by September 10, according to Suzara. Fans may view the initial pools at the competition page here.
Here is the 21-man pool for the home team, Alas Pilipinas:
Household names, such as Japan’s Yuji Nishida, Team USA’s Micah Christenson, and the Netherlands’ Nimir Abdel-Aziz, among many other international stars, are also expected to step foot in Manila once the lineups are finalized this September.
Banner image courtesy of the Asian Volleyball Confederation.