2026 Men's Club World Championship and Lessons for Vietnamese Volleyball

I sit in the hot seat in Binh Duong, the screen showing the list of 8 teams participating in the 2026 FIVB Men's Club World Championship in Poland: Perugia, Sada Cruzeiro, Ziraat, Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi, Al Ahly, Foolad Sirjan, Vôlei Renata. No Vietnam. No Sanest Khanh Hoa, no Bien Phong, no representative from the S-shaped country. The ball rolls first, the story follows – and today's story is the gap between dreams and reality. Vietnamese volleyball has made significant strides in the past decade. The women's team has won medals at the SEA Games, domestic clubs like VTV Binh Dien Long An and Thong Tin LienVietPostBank have performed consistently. But at the men's club level, we still cannot compete with Asia's top teams, let alone the world. The Club World Championship is not just a tournament – it is a mirror reflecting the strength of volleyball nations. Indonesia's first-ever representative (Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi) is a milestone, showing that Southeast Asia has potential. Why is Vietnam still on the sidelines? Look at the participant list. Perugia, the reigning world champion, boasts international stars like Oleh Plotnytskyi and Simone Giannelli. That is the result of a systematic investment, from youth training to talent recruitment. Sada Cruzeiro, five-time champions, represents South American strength with physicality and skill. Even teams from Iran (Foolad Sirjan) or Turkey (Ziraat) show that Asia and the Middle East are rising. Where is Vietnam in this picture? The truth is that Vietnamese men's volleyball lacks many elements: facilities, athlete compensation, long-term development strategy. Domestic clubs rely mainly on state budgets or limited sponsorship, unable to afford quality foreign players or host international friendlies. Meanwhile, clubs like Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi became Asian champions thanks to comprehensive investment from the Indonesian Volleyball Federation. They have a developed national league, naturalized players, and a clear strategy. From the perspective of someone who has followed Vietnamese volleyball for over 30 years, I realize we cannot rely solely on individual talent. Nguyen Van Quyet, the brightest star of Vietnamese men's volleyball, once played in Japan and left his mark. But one swallow does not make a summer. To have a team capable of competing at the continental level, we need an entire ecosystem: training academies, youth leagues, nutrition programs, foreign coaches, and especially support from businesses. The lesson from the 2026 Club World Championship is not about Vietnam's absence, but about what we can learn from emerging teams like Ziraat or Jakarta. How did they rise? The answer is: long-term vision, proper investment, and willingness to change. The Vietnam Volleyball Federation needs a concrete plan to send a men's club to the AVC Champions League, then aim for the world championship. It is not impossible – if there is determination. When the media runs faster than the ball, the storyteller must know when to stop. I stop here, not to give a pessimistic conclusion, but to ask: When will Vietnam have a representative at the most prestigious men's club volleyball tournament in the world? I don't remember the score, but I remember the stadium lights and the sigh of the stands. Let that sigh turn into cheers.