Nigeria finished eighth at the 2026 CAVB Men’s African Nations Volleyball Championship after losing 3-0 to Ghana in the seventh-place playoff, while hosts Tunisia retained the African title on Friday.

 The defeat brought Nigeria’s campaign to an end with two wins and three losses. Their eighth-place finish also ended their hopes of securing one of Africa’s three qualification spots for the 2027 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship.

 Nigeria advanced from the group stage to the quarter-finals, where they suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat to Morocco.

 The Nigerians won the opening set 25-20, but Morocco responded by taking the next two sets. Nigeria levelled the match after edging the fourth set 26-24, before Morocco won the decisive set 15-12 to book their place in the semi-finals.

 Nigeria subsequently entered the classification stage, where they were beaten 3-1 by Rwanda before Ghana completed their campaign with a straight-sets victory in the seventh-place playoff.

 The result left Nigeria eighth overall and outside the three African teams that qualified for the 2027 World Championship.

 At the top of the standings, Tunisia defeated Cameroon 3-0 in Friday’s final at the El Menzah Sports Palace to retain their continental crown. The victory also secured Tunisia’s place in the men’s volleyball tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

 Cameroon, who had already secured qualification for the 2027 World Championship by reaching the final, finished with the silver medal. Morocco and Algeria faced off in the bronze-medal match for Africa’s remaining World Championship qualification spot.

 For Nigeria, the tournament offered valuable competition against some of Africa’s leading volleyball nations, but their quarter-final exit and subsequent classification defeats ultimately left them eighth in the final standings.