Montreal, Quebec City named Canada's co-host cities for 2027 women's volleyball World Cup

The Canadian women's volleyball team has the luxury of concentrating on performance and not on Olympic stakes when it hosts world championship matches next year.

Montreal and Quebec City were announced Thursday as Canada's co-host cities of the 2027 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup, which will be played in North America for the first time.

Montreal's Bell Centre and Quebec City's Videotron Centre join previously announced Omaha, Neb., Orlando, Fla., and Anaheim, Calif., in hosting the 32-country tournament Aug. 20 to Sept. 5, 2027.

Canada will compete in Olympic indoor women's volleyball in 2028 in Los Angeles for the first time since 1996 in Atlanta. 

The Canadians booked their L.A. berth by winning NORCECA's Olympic continental qualifying tournament Aug. 29 in the Dominican Republic.

The 2027 World Cup is an Olympic qualifier. The top three non-qualified countries in the tournament will join the United States, Canada, Thailand, Egypt, Turkey and Brazil already bound for L.A. The remaining three berths will be determined by world rankings in 2028.

Brie Fransen of Langley, B.C., says she and her Canadian teammates can play World Cup matches with the moxie that comes with an Olympic berth already in their pockets, and they can also feed off home-court momentum.

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"We'll be able to really enjoy the experience of playing in the World Cup a lot differently than if we had this massive weight, the burden of qualifying on us," said the 28-year-old setter. "It changes how you experience the tournament when you have that.

"It will be a much better experience getting to play in the World Cup, especially getting to host, and it really just is an