TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, November 9, 2026. – Coaches of the national teams participating in the 21st AFECAVOL U21 Women’s Central American Championship anticipate a highly competitive tournament, marked by evenly matched teams and the opportunity to continue developing the future stars of Central American volleyball.
The tournament will begin on Tuesday, November 10, at Gymnasium 2 of the Jorge A. Galeano Sports Complex in Tegucigalpa, bringing together all seven Central American national teams.
Belize enters as the defending champion, while Costa Rica, with nine titles, and Guatemala, with six, are among the most successful teams in the history of the competition.
During the registration and document verification process, coaches agreed that the championship represents an important opportunity to assess their players’ development, strengthen their training programs, and prepare future members of their senior national teams.
Dany Calderón, head coach of El Salvador: “We are coming into this tournament fully determined to give our best performance. The girls are highly motivated, as are we, to achieve the best possible result. We have a squad that combines players who have been part of the U15 and U19 programs, along with four or five who are actually in the age group for this competition. This gives our team promising prospects for the future because, since last year, we have been working to keep younger players involved so they can gain experience. We did the same with our senior national team, where 50% of the players were U21 athletes. Although not all of them were starters, they had opportunities to play, and that is what we are trying to continue doing with the younger age groups.”
Claudia Noguera, head coach of Nicaragua: “It is a great honor for us to represent Nicaragua in this tournament. Our goal is to remain on the podium after finishing second in the previous edition. Although we have a fairly young team, we know the competition will be very demanding, with national teams of a very high standard. There is always a great deal of parity in this age category, but we will go out and give our best. We have players who have been part of a development process and gaining experience for the past three or four years.”
Julio Domínguez, head coach of Guatemala: “Our expectation is to compete at a high level. Like every team, we want to finish among the top places, and we are confident that our level of play will progressively improve throughout the tournament so we can achieve our goals. I would also like to thank the Honduran Volleyball Federation for making this event possible. We have been carrying out a structured development program with our U19 and U21 teams. Some of our players have participated in invitational competitions, which have allowed us to evaluate them and give them opportunities to play without too much pressure. Several were part of the U19 national team that competed last year in El Salvador.”
Marvin Andino, head coach of Honduras: “As always, in every tournament we participate in, our objective is to reach the podium and secure one of the top three places. We know this will be a very tough competition because all the teams have prepared extensively. We have faith in God, in the efforts of our federation, which made it possible for several athletes who are based abroad to join the team, and in our teamwork to achieve great things.”
Braulio Godínez, head coach of Costa Rica: “We have a well-balanced team. Most of the girls play in the First Division, and we are confident they will demonstrate a good level of play and competitive rhythm. We know the competition will be very tough. Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Belize are always strong opponents who push us to perform at our best. We hope to return to the podium this year, something we have not achieved in recent editions.”
Alberto Jesús Quiel, head coach of Panama: “We have a very enthusiastic group. Most of our players are at the upper age limit for this category, and we also have some younger athletes who already have experience in these types of tournaments. Our intention is to make the most of this experience and, with God’s help, achieve good results. Reaching the podium would be extremely valuable, but the most important thing is the level of play we can develop. A competition of this caliber allows us to gain experience, improve our performance, and contribute to the personal and athletic development of our players.”
Belize, the defending champion, is expected to arrive in Tegucigalpa on Monday evening and complete its Preliminary Inquiry on Tuesday morning. The team has already been officially registered for the competition.
The seven national teams will be divided into two pools. Pool A will feature Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras, while Pool B will consist of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama.
Teams will compete in a round-robin format within their respective pools. The pool winners will advance directly to the semifinals, while the second- and third-place finishers will compete in crossover quarterfinals to determine the remaining two semifinalists.
The championship will take place from November 10 to 15 in Tegucigalpa.
Match Schedule Tuesday November 10
2:00 p.m. Nicaragua vs. Panama
4:30 p.m. Guatemala vs. Costa Rica
7:00 p.m. El Salvador vs. Honduras