THERAN - The Iranian national men’s volleyball team will participate in a four-nations international tournament in Ufa, Russia, facing Cuba, Russia, and Belarus as part of its preparations for the 2026 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship.
The 2026 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship—which also serves as the first stage of qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games—will take place in Fukuoka, Japan, from September 4 to 13.
The national team began its final week of training in Tehran on Thursday, August 13, at the late Mohammad-Reza Yazdani-Khorram Hall under head coach Roberto Piazza. Head coach Piazza has called up 15 players for the current training camp: Arshia Behnezhad, Elshen Davoudipour, Seyed Eisa Naseri, Yousef Kazemi, Muhammad-Nima Bateni, Mohammad Valizadeh, Ali Hajipour, Amin Esmaeilnezhad, Morteza Sharifi, Porya Hussein-Khanzadeh, Ali Haqparast, Esmaeil Mosafer, Mobin Nasri, Muhammad-Reza Hazratpour, and Hussein Hajikellateh. Following the camp, 14 players will be selected to travel to Russia and Japan.
The squad will depart Tehran for Russia on Thursday, August 20. Following their arrival in Ufa, the team will hold their first training session from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tehran time.
The tournament action opens on Friday, August 21, with Cuba facing Belarus at 2:30 p.m., followed by Iran taking on host nation Russia at 5:30 p.m. Tehran time. On Saturday, August 22, Iran meets Cuba at 2:30 p.m., while Russia plays Belarus at 5:30 p.m. The four-nations event concludes on Sunday, August 23, with Iran facing Belarus at 2:30 p.m. before Russia plays Cuba at 5:30 p.m.
Following the tournament, Piazza’s squad will remain in Ufa on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 25 and 26, to conduct four strength and ball-handling training sessions before traveling to Moscow.
While in Moscow, the Iranian team will continue training and play two friendly matches against Russian club Dinamo Moscow on Thursday and Friday, August 27 and 28. The Iranian delegation will then depart Moscow for Japan on Monday, August 31, to begin their campaign at the 2026 Asian Championship.