A total of 16 teams qualified for the final tournament. In addition to Belgium and Netherlands, who qualified automatically as the hosts, another 10 teams qualified via five separate continental tournaments which were required to be held by 31 December 2020 at the latest. However, due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent impact on some Confederations’ ability to organize the events within the given deadline, the FIVB decided to postpone the deadline for continental qualifications to 28 February 2021. Additionally, in the case of no Continental Confederations being able to hold qualifying events, teams were to qualify according to the respective Continental Rankings. The remaining 4 teams qualified via the FIVB Junior World Ranking.
