The conclusion of the preliminary phase of the 2024 Women's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) also marked the end of the qualification period for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The world rankings on 17 June determined the final five women's teams that will compete in the upcoming Olympic volleyball tournament, joining the seven teams that had already secured their places.

A total of 12 women's teams will compete in the traditional or indoor volleyball category in Paris. They include the host nation France, six teams from the 2023 pre-Olympic tournaments and five of the best teams from the world rankings that ended yesterday (with priority given to the best team from Asia and Africa).

The Paris 2024 women's volleyball tournament will take place from 18 July to 11 August at the Paris South Arena.

These are the women's volleyball teams taking part in Paris 2024:

France (host nation); Dominican Republic (1st in Pre-Olympic A); Serbia (2nd in Pre-Olympic A); Turkey (1st Pre-Olympic B); Brazil (2nd Pre-Olympic B); United States (1st Pre-Olympic C); Poland (2nd Pre-Olympic C); Italy (2nd World Ranking); People's Republic of China (6th in the world and best in Asia); Japan (7th in the world); Netherlands (8th in the world); Kenya (20th in the world and best in Africa)

In beach volleyball, Paraguay made history at the Estadio Mundialista Los Pynandí in the Paraguayan Olympic Park when they overtook Argentina to qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time. They did so by winning the Continental Cup, the final qualifying event for beach volleyball.

Érika Mongelos, Fiorella Núñez, Giuliana Poletti and Michelle Valiente achieved the feat by beating Peru in the semi-finals and Argentina in the final in heavy rain to secure their place at the Olympics.

"We are going to Paris. We have been dreaming about this for so many years and months. I don't know how to explain it," said Érika Mongelos, Paraguay and South American champion.

In terms of qualification, the top 17 teams in the Olympic rankings (based on the 12 best team results between 1 January 2023 and 9 June 2024) have qualified. There are also places available in continental competitions, such as the one won by the Paraguayan women's team.

A total of 24 teams of each gender will compete for the glory of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in beach volleyball, with a total of 96 athletes. The exciting events will take place at the iconic Champ de Mars, close to the Eiffel Tower, a popular meeting place for Parisians. A temporary stadium will be built there for beach volleyball (and for blind football at the Paralympic Games, which start a few weeks later).