In 2018, there will be no World League or World Grand Prix competitions. Instead, men's and women's national teams from 21 countries will face off in the newly created Volleyball Nations League.

The Volleyball Nations League, which we'll go ahead and unofficially abbreviate VNL, is a partnership between the FIVB and IMG. The format features 12 "core" teams and four "challengers" of each gender. The 16 teams per gender will each play a minimum of 15 matches throughout the league season, with each core team hosting at least pool.

Luckily for American volleyball fans, the U.S. men's and women's national teams are both "core" teams, so at some point next summer we'll have top-level international volleyball on U.S. soil.

Women's Core Teams

Brazil
China
Germany
Italy
Japan
Netherlands
Russia
Serbia
South Korea
Thailand
Turkey
United States

Women's Challenger Teams

Argentina
Belgium
Dominican Republic
Poland

Men's Core Teams

Argentina
Brazil
China
France
Germany
Iran
Italy
Japan
Poland
Russia
Serbia
United States

Men's Challenger Teams

Australia
Bulgaria
Canada
South Korea