Belgium targets strongest roundnet squads ever for Paris Worlds 2026

Belgium is turning Worlds 2026 into a full national-build project, not just a selection window. Roundnet Belgium says it wants its strongest squads ever for Paris, and the route to get there runs through a more open, performance-based process that is already reshaping how the country finds its best players.

The clearest pressure point is the National Camp, set for July 3-5, 2026 at Blaarmeersen in Ghent. Only players invited by the coaching staff can attend, and attendance is mandatory for final selection. That makes the camp the decisive live test, where Belgium will sort out not just individual level but how combinations actually work under match conditions.

What makes this cycle different is how broad the evaluation has become. Players are being judged on individual roundnet skill, results in Belgian tournaments, results in international tournaments, commitment, availability, motivation, and team fit. Belgium is also telling players they do not need a fixed partner to apply, which gives the staff room to test combinations and finalize pairings later. That is a cleaner, more ruthless way to build a squad, and it signals a federation that is no longer content with simply filling spots.

The eligibility rules are just as deliberate. The International Roundnet Federation requires at least one national-team qualification path, including permanent residence in the country before the start of 2026. It also bars a player from representing a different country at Worlds if that athlete represented another nation in an international event in the last 36 months. Belgium is operating inside those rules while still casting a wider net, including permanent residents, visa holders, and players who have lived permanently in Belgium before 2026.

The broader ambition is impossible to miss. The 2026 World Championship will run from September 2-6 at Parc du Tremblay in Paris, with men’s, women’s, and mixed competition formats under the IRF system. Belgium is aiming past its historic fifth-place finish and into the tier where it can challenge the world’s best on the biggest stage.

That push also fits the sport’s growth inside the country. Roundnet Belgium says the game is expanding quickly through local clubs, and Roundnet Gent says it is especially popular in Ghent, where players regularly use Blaarmeersen for summer pickup games. The federation is also pulling in coaches, staff, designers, officials, sponsors, media creators, and supporters around the Worlds project. In a sport that is still building its standards, Belgium is making its point early: Paris is not a participation exercise. It is a ceiling-raising campaign.