MOSCOW, August 4. /TASS/. The Russian men's and women's national volleyball squads will participate in the 2027 FIVB Nations League tournament, the press office of the Russian Volleyball Federation (RVF) said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) has announced that it continues working out a plan for the return of Russian teams to international competitions and has confirmed that the Russian men's and women's national teams will participate in the 2027 Nations League as the highest-ranked teams that missed the previous qualifiers," the statement reads.

"In this regard, the format of the Nations League in 2027, by way of exception, will be expanded from 18 to 19 teams, in both the men's and women's competitions," the statement continued. "It will enable the Russians, the Slovenian women's national team and the Finnish men's team to participate in the next tournament draw. The latter won the right to participate in the Nations League after winning the qualifiers."

The statement also pointed out that FIVB is currently reviewing the competition format in order to implement this expansion. The FIVB also stated that in line with the recommendations from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) a special anti-doping testing plan would be introduced.

On July 8, the Board of Administration of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) ruled to lift all previously imposed restrictions against Russia following recommendations from the International Olympic Committee. The IOC announced a decision on July 7 to provisionally lift an earlier-imposed suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and also recommended lifting restrictions on the participation of Russian athletes in all international tournaments.