1997 Men's European Volleyball Championship

The Volleyball European Championship Men 1997 was held from September 6 to 14 in the Netherlands instead. The Games were held in Eindhoven and 's- Hertogenbosch. The hosts won for the first time the title.

Mode

First, a preliminary round was held, in which the twelve teams were divided into two groups of six. The top two teams in each group reached the semi-finals. The third-placed and fourth played for places five to eight.

Schedule

Preliminary round

Placement matches

Full Time

Qualification

The Netherlands was set as host. The top four teams in the European championship in 1995 were also automatically qualified. These were Italy as the defending champion, the Second Yugoslavia, Bulgaria Fourth and Fifth of Russia.

24 teams played for seven other places. In the first round were 23 teams in two fours and three groups of five, in which they competed against each opponent home and away. The group winners qualify for the finals. The runners-up played together with Austria, which joined as host of the qualifying round in Vienna, " all against all ". The top four teams in this group played in the semi-finals and final of the last two places in the final.