France begin Los Angeles Olympic qualification marathon

France’s men’s volleyball team has started the long qualification campaign for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, despite entering the European Championship without several of the players who delivered its recent Olympic titles. The reigning champions from Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024 are not guaranteed a place in California, with the United States already qualified as hosts and 11 other Olympic berths available.

The French campaign begins on Thursday against Switzerland in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. France is ranked eighth in the world, while Switzerland is 28th. The group also includes Turkey, 10th, Germany, 12th, Romania, 35th, and Latvia, 51st. The top four teams advance to the round of 16.

The European Championship offers France its clearest early route to Los Angeles. For the first time in 35 years, the European champion will qualify directly, alongside the winners of the other four continental tournaments being held this month. If France does not win the title, three further Olympic places will be awarded at the 2027 World Championship in Poland to the best teams still outside the field. The final three will be decided by the world ranking after the preliminary phase of the 2028 Volleyball Nations League.

Andrea Giani has left out experienced double Olympic champions including Earvin Ngapeth, Jean Patry, Jenia Grebennikov and Barthélémy Chinenyeze for this summer’s competitions. Captain Antoine Brizard says the reshaped side has improved since the beginning of the summer, but needs time to develop.