Quintet of Volleyball giants awarded wildcards to CEV Champions League 2026/27!

On Tuesday, the CEV Board of Administration confirmed the assignation of the five wildcards available to join the 2026/27 edition of CEV Champions League Volley.
Italy’s Trentino Itas, Spain’s Guaguas Las Palmas, and Romania’s Dinamo Bucuresti for men, and Italy’s Igor Gorgonzola Novara and Türkiye’s Galatasaray Daikin Istanbul for women.

Trentino Itas do not only represent the strong Italian Volleyball league, as they also have a rich history in the competition, with three titles in a row between 2009 and 2011 and they most recently success in 2024 when they won the last Super Finals held in Antalya.

Meanwhile, Spanish national champions Guaguas Las Palmas caused a sensation in 2024 as well as in 2026 by reaching the quarterfinals of the competition after starting their journey from the early rounds on both occasions.
The team from the Canary Islands have showed, in addition to be a great protagonist in domestic competitions, also their ability to challenge the most decorated and quoted teams as well, including defending champions Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia, pushing them to a fifth set in the pool stage as well as in the quarterfinals!

Romania’s Dinamo Bucuresti represent a multi-sport club that has achieved amazing success not only in volleyball, and about our sport, they boast three titles from the former CEV Champions Cup (in 1966, 1967, and 1981).

The wildcard recipients in the women’s competition are real Volleyball powerhouses as well, as Igor Gorgonzola Novara are former Champions League winners, from the historic Super Finals held in 2019 in Berlin, and more recently also won the Challenge Cup and CEV Cup on consecutive years (2024 and 2025). Last season, they reached the Playoff Round – where they lost at the Golden Set to their domestic rivals Savino Del bene Scandicci.
As for Galatasaray Daikin Istanbul, earlier this year they secured a long-awaited continental trophy for the first time in their history when they won the CEV Cup. They will contest the Champions League for the first time since 2018, and their best result was a fourth place from the 2013 edition, when they hosted the Final Four.

All these teams, men and women, will start the competition from Round 4.

“I would like to thank all the clubs who expressed their interest in joining the Champions League and prepared their applications with so much care and diligence. The quality of their applications clearly shows and reflects the immense value of this iconic competition – everyone out there dreams to be a part of it,” says CEV President Roko Sikirić.
“The approved allocations further strengthen the CEV Champions League Volley by bringing together established Volleyball powers and ambitious clubs from a broad range of European Volleyball markets. This approach supports the continued development, visibility and long-term growth of Europe’s premier club competition while maintaining the highest sporting standards. With the addition of these five teams to those qualified as per the European Ranking and the results of domestic competitions, we make sure that the CEV Champions League remains a real benchmark of quality and excellence from a sporting and commercial perspective. The cream of the crop of the global Volleyball community will again entertain fans with actions of the finest level.”

The full list of participating teams will be released on July 15 at 12:00 CEST with the Drawing of Lots for all rounds and all European club competitions.

Source: CEV
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