The “2025/26 Season and Schedule Presentation” concluded the 2025 Volleyball Transfer Market, held during the three-day event in Bologna. The 81st Serie A Championship is now ready to get underway, with the pairings and matchdays (which still need to be adjusted for television or event planning needs) announced before a large audience of managers, industry professionals, guests, and journalists present for the final act of this Volleyball Transfer Market. Special attention was paid to the SuperLega Credem Banca schedule, which for the first time will be structured asymmetrically, with first-leg and second-leg matches separated.
The photo gallery of the “2025/26 Season and Calendar Presentation”
Among the most important developments of the show (enlivened by songs and the presence of one of the pillars of Italian songwriting, Ron) was the renewal of the agreement between Lega Pallavolo Serie A and Del Monte®, title sponsor of the League’s events and gold sponsor of the championships, which will “give” themselves the Del Monte® Supercoppa SuperLega in Saudi Arabia: a special location for a special event, as Itas Trentino, Cucine Lube Civitanova, Rana Verona, and Sir Safety Perugia will compete in the Final Four in Jeddah, scheduled for November 8 and 9, 2026.
Massimo Righi introduced the topic: “Speaking of the Super Cup, we’re delighted to announce this season’s latest development: we’ve reached an agreement to host the 2025/26 Del Monte® Super Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.” A brief conversation followed. “We’re honored to announce with you the organization of this event, which we believe will be international in scope and mutually beneficial,” Righi continued. “I thank Saudi Crown, a fund close to Saudi Arabia, for this opportunity.”
The Saudi Crown representative said he was “honored to be part of this event and delighted to seize this opportunity. Best wishes to the participating teams and the sponsors, especially Del Monte®. The bond between Saudi Arabia and Italy is strengthening, even from a sporting perspective.”
This morning, Fabio Fistetto, the new CEO of the Lega Pallavolo Serie A, also took over.
Fabio Fistetto is the new CEO of the Lega Pallavolo Serie A.
Fistetto’s words: “I accepted the role with pride and I want to once again thank all the Presidents of the Serie A clubs, everyone I have worked with over the years.
Elio Sità, Vice President of FIPAV, was also present: “These are top-level championships, as demonstrated by the progress made by Italian teams, even beyond our borders. I wish you all a season filled with success and a season that allows everyone to achieve their goals.”
Lega Pallavolo Serie A and Credem together until 2027
After a short video featuring highlights from the Serie A2 and Serie A3 events, it was time for the first awards to be presented to the club representatives; The first to take the stage was Roberto Zambonardi, coach of Gruppo Consoli Sferc Brescia, a team that won the Del Monte® Coppa Italia A2 for the second year in a row: “It’s a wonderful feeling, we’ve repeated the success of the previous year.
From the Coppa Italia to the Serie A2 Super Cup, Gabriele Costamagna, President of MA Acqua S.Bernardo Cuneo, accepted the award for the success of the latest event dedicated to the category: “Let’s see how next year goes in the Super League. We’re thrilled, and so is the local community.”
Fabrizio Ruggiero, President of Romeo Sorrento, then took the stage. The team, in addition to securing promotion to Serie A2, also added the Del Monte® Coppa Italia and Serie A3 Super Cup to its trophy cabinet: “It was something extraordinary.
Italy, but not only, as Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia moved on to intercontinental success—the first for the Umbrian club—in the CEV Champions League. The excitement, points, and decisive moments of the Final Four in Lodz, Poland, which consigned Lorenzetti’s team to history, were all there. On stage was Block Devils President Gino Sirci, who also enjoyed the Del Monte® Supercoppa SuperLega victory (with the sponsorship of Sir Susa Vim Perugia), held in September 2024 in Florence: “A dramatic but beautiful Final Four. 13 years after our arrival in the SuperLega, we are first in Europe: a year we are enjoying with satisfaction and pride. We started the year well, winning the Supercup. A year that started well and ended even better.”
Cucine Lube Civitanova, represented on stage by the team’s Vice President, Albino Massaccesi, took center stage in Bologna, winning the Del Monte® Coppa Italia SuperLega. “I honestly wasn’t expecting such a success,” he said. “This victory made us realize that trying something new can lead to significant results if you work hard.” A memorable edition of the Del Monte® Coppa Italia SuperLega took place at the Unipol Arena in Bologna in January 2025, with 15 sets played across three matches, demonstrating an increasingly spectacular Del Monte® Coppa Italia SuperLega.
Next, there was space, words, and emotion for the teams that achieved promotion to Credem Banca’s Serie A2 this year: Rinascita Lagonegro and Romeo Sorrento. Sorrento’s President Ruggiero was on stage to accept the award, while Lagonegro was represented by President Nicola Carlomagno (“We’ve been separated from Lagonegro between Serie A2 and Serie A3 for ten years, but for us it’s always been a strength, not an excuse. We love this sport and we’ll continue to give our all for the good of volleyball”), with Credem Banca’s Maurizio Giglioli presenting the awards, along with Massimo Righi. “Nine years of sponsorship with Credem Banca represent a very long achievement. We’re pleased with the shared values that unite us and allow us to move forward,” Righi explained. “We have a shared ability to work together that has allowed us to exceed our wildest expectations.”
The aforementioned MA Acqua S.Bernardo Cuneo, represented by President Costamagna, won promotion to the Credem Banca SuperLega: “Playing for promotion in front of 5,000 people in your city was truly an incredible feeling. We reawakened a passion that had been dormant in Cuneo.”
From Serie A3 to Serie A2, without forgetting the SuperLega. The reigning Italian champions Itas Trentino, winners of the last Credem Banca SuperLega championship, were introduced by music by maestro Giuseppe Tassoni, which accompanied a video featuring the most beautiful images of the last Credem Banca SuperLega championship.
On stage, to accept the award for the Dolomite club, Marcello Poli, President of Trento: “I had the honor of being elected President of the club last October. The feeling of winning our first Scudetto was truly powerful: the boys played well, reaching the final three competitions, despite finishing second in the Supercup and the Club World Cup. The big target for us remained, and we achieved it. However, I want to congratulate Civitanova for the fair play they demonstrated throughout the Scudetto series.”
Before Ron’s show, which delighted the audience with some great hits after being introduced by the Lega Pallavolo’s Artistic Director Marco Caronna, it was time for a brief greeting from Matteo Piano, former Allianz Milano Captain who decided to retire at the end of last season. “I loved playing volleyball, but also broadcasting it, and now that I’m on the radio, it’s a little dream come true for me.
Massimo Righi commented on some of the latest developments: “We confirm that we have signed a ten-year contract with Volleyball World for media and betting rights, both for the Italian and international markets. This stability will allow us to proceed smoothly. We have also begun the process of rebranding our logo and repositioning our image and content. We are already working on a new, more commercial SuperLega logo. I also ask you to give us a round of applause because this season we have broken all the attendance records in volleyball history.”
From last season to the next, with the first matchdays of the SuperLega, Serie A2, and Serie A3 schedules gradually being revealed. Big matches, key rounds, with particular attention paid to the SuperLega Credem Banca schedule, which for the first time will be structured asymmetrically, with first-leg and second-leg matches separated.
“We decided to pursue a path that would allow us to be flexible in constructing the schedule,” Righi explained. “Between the incompatibilities and the issues related to European and World Cup matches, we weren’t able to guarantee that the first and second leg matches would be the same.”
Ferdinando De Giorgi, Coach of the Italian National Team, currently playing in the VNL, also sent his greetings from Ljubljana.
Subsequently, between one calendar day and the next, there was space for the individual Awards. The Pistelli – Passion for Sport Award was presented to Corriere dello Sport journalist Pasquale Di Santillo: “First of all, I send greetings to Adelio Pistelli’s wife, Silvana: it’s not easy to describe, but I’ll try to summarize. He was that journalist who had a passion for volleyball, like you, who lived for volleyball. Adelio was a model of our generation of journalists who never tired of seeking out the news.
The President of the Volleyball League also introduced the event dedicated to the best Press Offices: the “Stracca Award” recipients were Fabio Paci of Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina (SuperLega), Stella Testa of MA Acqua S.Bernardo Cuneo (Serie A2), and Marco d’Incà of Belluno Volley (Serie A3).
The Credem Banca Serie A championship days also continued, with the official announcement of the entire season, including big matches and key matches, with particular attention to the five midweek rounds that will liven up the season. The SuperLega, but above all, the December 26th round, which will coincide with Matchday 13.
The conclusion was all about the video, with the soundtrack of “The Best Years of Our Lives.”
The 81st Credem Banca Serie A Championship is now ready to debut.
