Northern Ireland Volleyball President Jonathan McFadden has released the following statement in response to the news that beach volleyball will not be part of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.

 

“After months of speculation I was delighted to see the Commonwealth Games return to the UK in 2026 with Glasgow stepping in to host the games. However, it is met with huge disappointment that Beach Volleyball has not been selected as one of 10 sports. Especially after the time effort that our close friends in Scottish Volleyball put in behind the scenes, I would like to go on record thanking them for all their efforts.”

 

“Beach Volleyball has become a firm favourite with fans and has become one the most watched sports across the games, to not have this opportunity to view one of the great spectator sports in person I’m sure will be very disappointing to those fans. After the huge success of Beach Volleyball in Birmingham it was hoped it would pave the way for Northern Ireland to compete at the games not only in 2026 but further into the future and help develop the sport in a small federation such as ours. The exclusion of beach volleyball from the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games is a major setback for the sport, our athletes and the progressions we are striving to make.”

 

“My hope is that Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland and Sport Northern Ireland will join their colleagues across the UK to work with us to provide alternative and appropriate competitive experiences to support both our players and federation performance goals.”

 

Jonathan McFadden

President

Northern Ireland Volleyball