The 2021 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League was the third edition of the FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League, an annual men's international volleyball tournament. The 2021 version of VNL was scheduled to start earlier than the previous edition due to the 2020 Summer Olympics in July. The competition was held between May and June 2021, and the final round took place in Rimini Fiera, Rimini, Italy. Brazil claimed their first VNL title after beating Poland in four sets. France sweeped Slovenia in three sets and grabbed the bronze medal. Both Wallace de Souza from Brazil and Bartosz Kurek from Poland named as MVPs of the tournament. Qualification In the 2019 edition sixteen teams qualified for the competition. Twelve of them qualified as core teams which could not face relegation. Other four teams were selected as challenger teams which could be relegated from the tournament. Slovenia as winner of 2019 Challenger Cup earned the right to participate in this tournament replacing Portugal, the last placed challenger team after the 2019 edition. This year there won’t be any promotion or relegation and the 16 participants will also compete in the 2022 edition. Netherlands replaced China after the decision of the Chinese Volleyball Association to withdraw its national men's team due to financial limitations and travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Format Preliminary round The 16 teams compete in a round-robin format. The teams play 3 matches each week and compete five weeks long, for 120 matches. The top four teams after the preliminary round compete in the final round. Final round The four qualified teams play knock-out round. The semifinals winners advance to compete for the Nations League title. The losers face each other in the third place match. Secure bubble As to ensure athletes were able to compete and the games were conducted safely, the 2021 VNL was played under a secure bubble. After the game, a total of 2,250 PCR and 7,920 antigen tests were performed and only one registered COVID-19 case was found. Venue Competition schedule Pool standing procedure Total number of victories (matches won, matches lost) In the event of a tie, the following first tiebreaker will apply: The teams will be ranked by the most points gained per match as follows: Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 points for the winner, 0 points for the loser Match won 3–2: 2 points for the winner, 1 point