Fédération Internationale de Volleyball

The international governing body for volleyball and beach volleyball is the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), which was formed in April 1947. Also known by its English name, International Volleyball Federation, the FIVB has 218 affiliated national federations as of January 2026. Brazil’s Fabio Azevedo is the FIVB’s current president, and the federation’s headquarters is based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The first FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship was staged in 1949, in Praha (then part of Czechoslovakia), and the inaugural edition of the FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championship was held in 1952, in Moskva (then part of the Soviet Union). The début at the Olympic Games for both men and women would happen at Tokyo 1964.

Beach volleyball had its début at the Olympics with tournaments for both genders at Atlanta 1996, and the first FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships occurred the following year, at Los Angeles 1997.

The first edition of the Youth Summer Olympics included volleyball tournaments for boys and girls but, since the second edition of the competition, its place in the programme was replaced by the presence of beach volleyball events.