The 28th edition of the FIVB Volleyball World League is set to welcome 36 teams in 2017, the same number as for the highly successful 2016 edition.
The tournament began with just eight countries, who took part in the inaugural competition in 1990. In 1991 the number of teams had risen to 10, while 12 nations competed from 1992-2000 and 2004-05. The field featured 16 teams from 2001-2003 and 2006-2012. 2013 saw 18 different countries compete, with that increasing to 28 in 2014 and 32 in 2015 before reaching the new high of 36 for 2016.
Each of the three groups in the 2017 edition of the World League will consist of 12 teams. Brazil and Italy are the only two countries to have participated in all 27 previous editions of the FIVB World League.