Polish volleyball players have a great chance. It would be a revolution!

Russia's aggression against Ukraine has consequences not only political and economic, but also sporting. The European Volleyball Federation has banned all teams from Russia and Belarus from international tournaments.

In order to fill their places in the Champions League, the decision was made to introduce so-called wild cards. In this way, the CEV also wants to increase the attractiveness of the competition for both fans and players.

Polish clubs will fight for Champions League wild cards

All European clubs can apply for a so-called wild card, regardless of where they finished in their domestic competition. The final right to compete will be decided, among other things, by the sporting value of the team.

Luca Muzzioli from Volleyball.it reported that five teams have expressed their willingness to play in the Champions League next season . These are two clubs from Italy – Gas Sales Piacenza and Verona Volley; Turkish Halkbank Ankara and two teams from Poland: ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle and Asseco Resovia Rzeszów.

ZAKSA withdraws from the Challenge Cup

The team from Opole, which has won the Champions League three times in the past, won the right to play in the Challenge Cup. The club has decided not to do so.

"We appreciate the prestige and sporting value of European cups, but our club's ambition is to compete at the highest possible level. Therefore, ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, recognizing its place in the history of the Champions League and wanting to continue the tradition of fighting for the most important trophies, is starting the procedure of applying for a wild card to the CEV Champions League in the 2025/2026 season," ZAKSA representatives wrote in a statement.

"We believe that our achievements on the international stage so far, including three triumphs in the Champions League (2021, 2022, 2023), as well as our constant work for the development of Polish and European volleyball, will be appreciated. We are convinced that ZAKSA has the potential to once again represent Poland with dignity in the most prestigious club competition on the Old Continent," they added.

Five Polish teams in the Champions League?

The CEV has a difficult decision ahead of them, as there are only three wild cards to be given out . If they were to award them to the teams from Rzeszów and Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Poland would have five representatives in the group stage of the Champions League in the 2025/2026 season.

At the moment, three teams from Poland have a guaranteed place in the competition: PGE Projekt Warszawa , Bogdanka LUK Lublin and Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie .

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