Coaches Convention 2026 to take place in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, this coming June!

The seventh edition of the annual CEV Coaches Convention will take place in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, this coming June 12-14, 2026. Since its introduction back in 2019, the event has regularly brought together coaches and PE teachers from across Europe and even further beyond and it continues to go from strength to strength, cementing its role as a key platform for those working at the grassroots level to learn from highly qualified speakers while sharing best practices, knowhow, and past experiences with one another. 

This year’s CEV Coaches Convention will introduce a variety of innovations in both schedule and content, all designed to offer an even more dynamic, practical, and forward-looking learning experience for the European coaching community. At the same time, the support mechanism for National Federations that stakeholders have become accustomed with will remain unchanged, thereby continuing with the scalable support system successfully implemented last year when the event was successfully held in Zadar, Croatia.

“It is with great enthusiasm that the Portuguese Volleyball Federation welcomes the seventh edition of the CEV Coaches Convention to Viana do Castelo. This event is not merely a gathering of specialists; it is a strategic milestone for the development of grassroots Volleyball across Europe. The choice of Viana do Castelo reinforces our strong partnership with the Municipality and recognises the city as a central hub for the sport. After having organised several international competitions and national finals in the city, hosting this Convention consolidates Viana do Castelo’s prestige beyond our borders,” says the President of the Portuguese Volleyball Federation, Mr Vicente Araújo. “The training of coaches and physical education teachers is the engine of growth for our sport. Bringing Europe’s top speakers to national soil allows our technicians to update their skills, share experiences, and return to their clubs with new tools to motivate our young athletes. We want this knowledge to be transversal, benefiting both elite Volleyball and school sports.” 
 
National Federations are encouraged to begin identifying and preparing the delegates they wish to assign to this flagship development event. Moreover, as it happened last year for the very first time, registrations will be open also to coaches and physical education teachers wishing to seize such an opportunity on their own without fulfilling the requirement of representing a National Federation involved in the highly successful CEV School Project ‘Play Volleyball – Grow with it’. 

Information regarding the confirmed line-up of speakers will follow shortly in a separate announcement. In the meantime, make sure you save the date and prepare yourself for a truly enriching learning and social experience, with plenty of takeaways to share with your Volleyball community when you return home!