35 of the 55 CEV national teams entered qualification. (Iceland later withdrew) The teams were distributed according to their position in the FIVB Senior Men's Rankings as of 5 January 2008 using the serpentine system for their distribution. (Rankings shown in brackets) Teams ranked 1–6 did not compete in the first and second rounds, and automatically qualified for the third round. Teams ranked 7–20 did not compete in the first round, and automatically qualified for the second round.
