IBB Polonia London will not enter a senior team into the National Volleyball League during the 2026/27 season, following a strategic decision concerning how the club will use its financial resources, experience and organisational capacity.
Since the current puch for Volleyball 2.0 began more than thirteen years ago, IBB Polonia London has attempted to push beyond the traditional boundaries of domestic volleyball in England and understand whether a genuinely professional club model could be developed in London.
During that period the club won domestic championships, became NEVZA Club Champions in 2019 at its first participation, competed in the Challenge Cup, CEV Cup and CEV Champions League, worked with internationally recognised volleyball figures including Giba and Krzysztof Ignaczak, organised major events, developed broadcast and media projects, created The Volleyball Show, and invested extensively in youth development.
The 2019 NEVZA victory provided one of the clearest demonstrations that a club operating from England could successfully compete internationally, with IBB defeating Danish side BK Marienlyst in the final after entering the competition for the first time.
Those projects provided IBB with unusually broad experience of the sporting, commercial and institutional conditions surrounding ambitious volleyball development in Britain, while also demonstrating the considerable financial commitment required from individual clubs attempting to compete internationally.
The club has now concluded that allocating substantial resources toward another senior domestic campaign would provide limited progress toward solving the larger challenges which currently restrict the development of professional volleyball in Britain.
Successful European competition requires levels of investment which remain difficult to sustain when clubs have limited access to public support, suitable facilities, commercial revenues and institutional resources compared with many established volleyball countries across Europe.
IBB Polonia London will therefore redirect its attention toward grassroots development, volleyball communications and public relations, research and policy work, engagement with national and local government, international relationships, and advocacy concerning the wider development of volleyball.
The club intends to use the practical experience accumulated through domestic competition, the NEVZA championship, European campaigns, commercial projects and youth programmes to contribute to discussions concerning facilities, funding, participation, professional structures and the international position of British volleyball.
Youth and grassroots development will remain an active part of IBB Polonia London’s work, while the organisation will increasingly explore partnerships with public bodies, educational institutions, international volleyball organisations, businesses and other organisations interested in developing the sport.
The decision does not change the value of what IBB Polonia London achieved during its senior competitive years, which was made possible by players, coaches, volunteers, supporters, sponsors and partners who repeatedly supported ambitions that were unusual within British club volleyball.
IBB Polonia London is entering a different stage of its development, with the experience of the last thirteen years now being applied beyond the immediate objective of winning another domestic championship.