The FIVB has confirmed a suite of test rules for the 2026 international volleyball calendar, scaling back some of the more controversial proposals that swirled around the sport earlier this year while pushing forward with adjustments to roster size, warm-up protocol and the video challenge process.
The new rules will apply to the 2026 Volleyball Nations League, the FIVB U21 World Championships and the 2026 continental championships — European, NORCECA and ABC. Any update to the official volleyball rule book will be subject to review after the testing phase.
Liberos remain restricted from serving in international competition, and the proposal to bar them from setting in front of the attack line has not been adopted. In its place are a series of changes the FIVB describes as 'broader regulatory review aimed at enhancing game flow and simplifying volleyball rules while boosting fan understanding and engagement.'
Team rosters in FIVB events will officially run between 12 and 14 players, with each roster required to include at least one libero. Teams may nominate two liberos from the registered roster up to one hour before the match. The change codifies what had become common practice in VNL competition without being clearly written into the rule book.
A new 90-second separate serving warm-up window will be added to the pre-match protocol. Both teams will share the net during the attack portion of warm-up, after which Team A will take the court alone for a 90-second serving block, followed by Team B for the same period. The federation says the change was requested by athletes who wanted dedicated serving repetitions away from the attack-line congestion that has crept into recent warm-ups.
Video challenge procedures will also see adjustments. The FIVB is moving toward a remote review hub model for VNL events, with a centralised team of officials supporting on-court referees rather than every venue hosting a full review crew. The federation confirmed the hub will run live during the 2026 VNL as part of the test, with appeals against challenged calls handled centrally to standardise rulings across weeks.
The rule set also covers refined protocols for coach-referee interactions during stoppages, a clarification of which actions can be challenged, and pre-match procedures around captain and coach line-up cards.
Not every proposed change made it. Earlier social-media speculation about more radical adjustments — serving liberos, a shot-clock between rallies, smaller courts for the women's game — did not appear in the final document. The federation's emphasis is on incremental tests, with reviewers tasked to assess each adjustment after the 2026 calendar and recommend permanent adoption or rollback ahead of the 2027 World Championships in 2027.
VNL Week 1 begins later this month. Teams have been briefed on the changes and will be expected to operate to the new protocols from the first whistle.
