Bulgaria competed in the first Olympic tournament at Tokyo 1964, finishing fifth. They took the silver medal at Moscow 1980 and came joint-fifth again at Beijing 2008, before securing a fourth place at London 2012.

After an utterly amazing performance in 2015 when they captured the 2015 FIVB Volleyball World League title with an impressive sweep of their Group 2 matches and an even more striking appearance in the Group 1 Final Six in Rio de Janeiro, Team France capped their brilliant 2015 season with gold medal at the European Championship in Sofia.

The men’s national team returns to the championship for the first time since 2009 and securing 8^th place in Izmir.

Italy has a truly impressive record in this competition, with six titles (1989, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2005), four silver medals and three bronzes to their name. They will surely have the intention to leave their mark on the competition once more.

Portugal hosted the Final Four of the European League and the team came close to claiming a first international trophy before losing 2-3 in a dramatic final against Spain.

Romania return to compete at EuroVolley for the first time in 25 years. Their last medal from the European Championship came in 1977, when Romania won bronze in Finland.