{{Short description|International volleyball competition for national teams}} {{Infobox sports league | logo = FIVB_Volleyball_World_Grand_Champions_Cup_Logo.png | pixels = 200px | caption = | sport = Volleyball | founded = 1993 | inaugural = 1993 ([[1993 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|Men]], [[1993 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|Women]]) | folded = 2017 ([[2017 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|Men]], [[2017 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|Women]]) | replaced = FIVB Volleyball World Championship | teams = 6 | continent = International ([[Fédération Internationale de Volleyball|FIVB]]) | champion = '''M:''' {{vb|BRA}} <br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(5th title) <br> '''W:''' {{vbw|CHN|}} <br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(2nd title) | most_champs = '''M:''' {{vb|BRA}} <br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(5 titles) <br> '''W:''' {{vbw|BRA}} <br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; {{vbw|CHN}} <br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(2 titles each) | website = }}

The '''FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup''' was an international [[volleyball]] competition contested by the senior men's and women's national teams of the members of ''{{lang|fr|[[Fédération Internationale de Volleyball]]}}'' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The tournament was created in 1993 after radical changes made on the biggest tournaments organised by the FIVB. The main goal was not to have a single year without two high-profile world-level volleyball competitions, alongside the pre-existing [[FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship|men's]] and [[FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship|women's world championship]], [[FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup|men's]] and [[FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup|women's world cup]] and the [[Volleyball at the Summer Olympics|volleyball tournament at the Olympic Games]] which are all quadrennial and the annual [[FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League|men's]] and [[FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League|women's Nations League]].

The World Grand Champions Cup was therefore played quadrennially the year after the Olympic Games and is always hosted by the [[Japan Volleyball Association]]. It did not give any points for the [[FIVB Senior World Rankings|World Ranking]].

[[Brazil men's national volleyball team|Brazil]] has been the most successful team in the men's tournament, having won five of the seven editions. Brazil has also finished runners-up to [[Cuba men's national volleyball team|Cuba]] and [[Italy men's national volleyball team|Italy]] in the only two occasions claimed by other national teams. The women's tournament history is more balanced with [[Brazil women's national volleyball team|Brazil]] and [[China women's national volleyball team|China]] having won the tournament twice, while [[Cuba women's national volleyball team|Cuba]], [[Italy women's national volleyball team|Italy]], and [[Russia women's national volleyball team|Russia]] have won one title each.

==History== The World Grand Champions Cup was created in 1993 after radical changes made on the biggest tournaments organised by the FIVB. The main goal was not to have a single year without a world FIVB competition. This is the only FIVB tournament that doesn't give FIVB points for the world ranking.

On 22 June 2023, Volleyball Calendar 2025–2028 approved by FIVB shown that World Championships to be played biannually in odd years. That meant the World Grand Champions Cup was discontinued and replaced by World Championships.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Volleyball calendar 2025-2028 approved by the FIVB Board of Administration |url=https://www.fivb.com/en/about/news/volleyball-calendar-2025-2028-approved-by-the-fivb?id=100917 |access-date=2023-06-27 |website=www.fivb.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Winners=== Brazil has been the most successful team with the men's team winning five and the women's team two titles.

==Competition formula== The World Grand Champions Cup has always had the same formula since the first edition:

* The competition takes place in [[Japan]]. * Six teams participate in each event: host nation, four continental champions and one wild card. * [[Japan men's national volleyball team|Japan]] is always pre-qualified as the host nation. * Four continental champions from continents whose teams reached the highest ranking at the preceding [[Summer Olympic Games|Olympic Games]]. * The remaining team participates through a wild card granted by the [[Fédération Internationale de Volleyball|FIVB]]. * A round robin format is used for this competition. * Final standings are calculated by usual volleyball criteria: until 2013 match points, numbers of matches won, sets ratio (the total number of sets won divided by the total number of sets lost), points ratio, direct confrontation; since 2017 the first criterion became the number of matches won, followed by match points, sets ratio etc.

==Results summary== ===Men=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; width:96%; text-align:center;" |- !rowspan=2 width=6%|Year !colspan=7|Round-robin |- !width=15%|Champions !width=15%|Runners-up !width=15%|3rd placers !width=15%|4th placers !width=15%|5th placers !width=15%|6th placers |- |1993<br />[[1993 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|Details]] |'''{{vb-big|ITA}}''' |{{vb-big|BRA}} |{{vb-big|CUB}} |{{vb-big|JPN|1947}} |{{vb-big|USA}} |{{vb-big|KOR|1984}} |- |1997<br />[[1997 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|Details]] |'''{{vb-big|BRA}}''' |{{vb-big|NED}} |{{vb-big|CUB}} |{{vb-big|CHN}} |{{vb-big|JPN|1947}} |{{vb-big|AUS}} |- |2001<br />[[2001 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|Details]] |'''{{vb-big|CUB}}''' |{{vb-big|BRA}} |{{vb-big|FRY}} |{{vb-big|KOR|1997}} |{{vb-big|JPN}} |{{vb-big|ARG}} |- |2005<br />[[2005 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|Details]] |'''{{vb-big|BRA}}''' |{{vb-big|USA}} |{{vb-big|ITA}} |{{vb-big|JPN}} |{{vb-big|EGY}} |{{vb-big|CHN}} |- |2009<br />[[2009 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|Details]] |'''{{vb-big|BRA}}''' |{{vb-big|CUB}} |{{vb-big|JPN}} |{{vb-big|POL}} |{{vb-big|IRN}} |{{vb-big|EGY}} |- |2013<br />[[2013 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|Details]] |'''{{vb-big|BRA}}''' |{{vb-big|RUS}} |{{vb-big|ITA}} |{{vb-big|IRN}} |{{vb-big|USA}} |{{vb-big|JPN}} |- |2017<br />[[2017 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|Details]] |'''{{vb-big|BRA}}''' |{{vb-big|ITA}} |{{vb-big|IRI}} |{{vb-big|USA}} |{{vb-big|FRA}} |{{vb-big|JPN}} |- |}

===Women=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; width:96%; text-align:center;" |- !rowspan=2 width=6%|Year !colspan=7|Round-robin |- !width=15%|Champions !width=15%|Runners-up !width=15%|3rd placers !width=15%|4th placers !width=15%|5th placers !width=15%|6th placers |- |1993<br />[[1993 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|Details]] |'''{{vbw-big|CUB}}''' |{{vbw-big|CHN}} |{{vbw-big|RUS|1991}} |{{vbw-big|JPN|1947}} |{{vbw-big|USA}} |{{vbw-big|PER}} |- |1997<br />[[1997 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|Details]] |'''{{vbw-big|RUS}}''' |{{vbw-big|CUB}} |{{vbw-big|BRA}} |{{vbw-big|CHN}} |{{vbw-big|JPN|1947}} |{{vbw-big|KOR|1997}} |- |2001<br />[[2001 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|Details]] |'''{{vbw-big|CHN}}''' |{{vbw-big|RUS}} |{{vbw-big|JPN}} |{{vbw-big|BRA}} |{{vbw-big|USA}} |{{vbw-big|KOR|1997}} |- |2005<br />[[2005 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|Details]] |'''{{vbw-big|BRA}}''' |{{vbw-big|USA}} |{{vbw-big|CHN}} |{{vbw-big|POL}} |{{vbw-big|JPN}} |{{vbw-big|KOR|1997}} |- |2009<br />[[2009 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|Details]] |'''{{vbw-big|ITA}}''' |{{vbw-big|BRA}} |{{vbw-big|DOM}} |{{vbw-big|JPN}} |{{vbw-big|KOR|1997}} |{{vbw-big|THA}} |- |2013<br />[[2013 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|Details]] |'''{{vbw-big|BRA}}''' |{{vbw-big|USA}} |{{vbw-big|JPN}} |{{vbw-big|RUS}} |{{vbw-big|THA}} |{{vbw-big|DOM}} |- |2017<br />[[2017 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|Details]] |'''{{vbw-big|CHN}}''' |{{vbw-big|BRA}} |{{vbw-big|USA}} |{{vbw-big|RUS}} |{{vbw-big|JPN}} |{{vbw-big|KOR}} |- |}

==Medals summary== ===Men=== {{Medals table | caption = | host = | flag_template = vb | event = | team = | gold_BRA = 5 | silver_BRA = 2 | bronze_BRA = 0 | gold_CUB = 1 | silver_CUB = 1 | bronze_CUB = 2 | gold_ITA = 1 | silver_ITA = 1 | bronze_ITA = 2 | gold_NED = 0 | silver_NED = 1 | bronze_NED = 0 | gold_RUS = 0 | silver_RUS = 1 | bronze_RUS = 0 | gold_USA = 0 | silver_USA = 1 | bronze_USA = 0 | gold_IRI = 0 | silver_IRI = 0 | bronze_IRI = 1 | gold_JPN = 0 | silver_JPN = 0 | bronze_JPN = 1 | gold_FRY = 0 | silver_FRY = 0 | bronze_FRY = 1 }}

===Women=== {{Medals table | caption = | host = | flag_template = vbw | event = | team = | gold_BRA = 2 | silver_BRA = 2 | bronze_BRA = 1 | gold_CHN = 2 | silver_CHN = 1 | bronze_CHN = 1 | gold_RUS = 1 | silver_RUS = 1 | bronze_RUS = 1 | gold_CUB = 1 | silver_CUB = 1 | bronze_CUB = 0 | gold_ITA = 1 | silver_ITA = 0 | bronze_ITA = 0 | gold_USA = 0 | silver_USA = 2 | bronze_USA = 1 | gold_JPN = 0 | silver_JPN = 0 | bronze_JPN = 2 | gold_DOM = 0 | silver_DOM = 0 | bronze_DOM = 1 }}

==All-time team records== {| class="wikitable" |+Number of matches |1 |Japan |35 |- |2 |Brazil |30 |- |3 |Republic of Korea |25 |- |4 |China |25 |- |5 |Russia |25 |- |6 |United States |25 |- |7 |Cuba |10 |- |8 |Dominican Republic |10 |- |9 |Thailand |10 |- |10 |Poland |5 |} {| class="wikitable" |+Wins |1 |Brazil |22 |- |2 |China |19 |- |3 |Russia |14 |- |4 |United States |14 |- |5 |Japan |13 |- |6 |Cuba |9 |- |7 |Italy |5 |- |8 |Dominican Republic |4 |- |9 |Republic of Korea |3 |- |10 |Poland |1 |} {| class="wikitable" |+Number of wins in games played |1 |Italy |100 % |- |2 |Cuba |90 % |- |3 |China |76 % |- |4 |Brazil |73 % |- |5 |Russia |56 % |- |6 |United States |56 % |- |7 |Dominican Republic |40 % |- |8 |Japan |37 % |- |9 |Poland |20 % |- |10 |Republic of Korea |12 % |}

(Based on W=2 pts and D=1 pts) {| class="wikitable" ! !Team !<abbr>S</abbr> !<abbr>Firs</abbr> !<abbr>Best</abbr> !<abbr>Pts</abbr> !<abbr>MP</abbr> !<abbr>W</abbr> !<abbr>L</abbr> !<abbr>GF</abbr> !<abbr>GA</abbr> !<abbr>diff</abbr> |- |1 |Brazil |6 |1997 |1st |52 |30 |22 |8 |76 |32 | +44 |- |2 |Japan |7 |1993 |3rd |48 |35 |13 |22 |55 |74 | -19 |- |3 |China |5 |1993 |1st |44 |25 |19 |6 |61 |32 | +29 |- |4 |Russia |5 |1993 |1st |39 |25 |14 |11 |55 |45 | +10 |- |5 |United States |5 |1993 |2nd |39 |25 |14 |11 |52 |48 | +4 |- |6 |Republic of Korea |5 |1997 |5th |28 |25 |3 |22 |14 |71 | -57 |- |7 |Cuba |2 |1993 |1st |19 |10 |9 |1 |28 |10 | +18 |- |8 |Dominican Republic |2 |2009 |3rd |14 |10 |4 |6 |15 |20 | -5 |- |9 |Thailand |2 |2009 |5th |11 |10 |1 |9 |8 |28 | -20 |- |10 |Italy |1 |2009 |1st |10 |5 |5 |0 |15 |3 | +12 |- |11 |Poland |1 |2005 |5th |6 |5 |1 |4 |7 |14 | -7 |- |12 |Peru |1 |1993 |6th |5 |5 |0 |5 |6 |15 | -9 |}

== Most valuable player by edition== {{col-begin}} {{col-2}}

===Men=== *[[1993 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|1993]] – {{flagathlete|[[Gilson Bernardo]]|BRA}} *[[1997 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|1997]] – {{flagathlete|[[Nalbert Bitencourt]]|BRA}} *[[2001 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|2001]] – {{flagathlete|[[Ivan Miljković]]|FR Yugoslavia|code=YUG}} *[[2005 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|2005]] – {{flagathlete|[[André Nascimento (volleyball)|André Nascimento]]|BRA}} *[[2009 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|2009]] – {{flagathlete|[[Robertlandy Simón]]|CUB}} *[[2013 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|2013]] – {{flagathlete|[[Dmitriy Muserskiy]]|RUS}} *[[2017 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Grand Champions Cup|2017]] – {{flagathlete|[[Ricardo Lucarelli]]|BRA}} {{col-2}}

===Women=== *[[1993 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|1993]] – {{flagathlete|[[Regla Bell]]|CUB}} *[[1997 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|1997]] – {{flagathlete|[[Yevgeniya Artamonova]]|RUS}} *[[2001 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|2001]] – {{flagathlete|[[Yang Hao (volleyball)|Yang Hao]]|CHN}} *[[2005 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|2005]] – {{flagathlete|[[Sheilla Castro]]|BRA}} *[[2009 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|2009]] – {{flagathlete|[[Simona Gioli]]|ITA}} *[[2013 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|2013]] – {{flagathlete|[[Fabiana Claudino]]|BRA}} *[[2017 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Grand Champions Cup|2017]] – {{flagathlete|[[Zhu Ting (volleyball)|Zhu Ting]]|CHN}} {{col-2}} {{col-end}}

==See also== {{Portal|Volleyball|Sports}}

{{div col|colwidth=22em}} *[[Volleyball at the Summer Olympics]] *[[FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League]] *[[FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship]] *[[FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup]] *[[FIVB Volleyball Men's Challenger Cup]] *[[FIVB Volleyball World League]] *[[FIVB World Grand Prix]] *[[FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League]] *[[FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship]] *[[FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup]] *[[FIVB Volleyball Women's Challenger Cup]] *[[List of indoor volleyball world medalists]] {{div col end}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.fivb.com/ Official website of the FIVB]

{{FIVB World Grand Champions Cup}} {{FIVB Competitions}} {{Volleyball}} {{International volleyball (Men)}} {{International volleyball (Women)}}

[[Category:FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup| ]] [[Category:International volleyball competitions|FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup]] [[Category:Women's international volleyball competitions|FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup]] [[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1993|FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup]] [[Category:Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2017]] [[Category:FIVB Men's Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup| ]] [[Category:FIVB Women's Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup| ]] [[Category:International volleyball competitions hosted by Japan]] [[Category:Quadrennial sporting events]] [[Category:Defunct sporting events]] [[Category:Defunct sports competitions]]