THE PVL’s longstanding relationship with the Philsports Arena is set to take a back seat, at least to begin the year.
The Pasig City venue served as the league’s de facto home court for much of the PVL’s post-pandemic pro era from 2022 onward and even during parts of its early years in 2017 and 2018.
READ: Eya Laure's Choco Mucho debut to highlight PVL 2026 opening day
However, it was again noticeably absent from the official schedule for the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference released on Wednesday.
While no PVL games were held at Philsports during the year-ending 2025 Reinforced Conference, that absence was attributed to the country’s hosting of the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup last December.
The last time the PVL held a match there was on August 26, 2025 for the preliminary round matches of the 2025 PVL Invitational, twin-billed by Creamline and Japanese side Kobe Shinwa along with ZUS Coffee and now-disbanded Chery Tiggo.
But with no major volleyball or international events listed at the arena for the first half of 2026, questions arose over its continued exclusion from the PVL calendar.
PVL control committee chairman Sherwin Malonzo clarified the situation, citing that the venue is now being prioritized for futsal use under the directive of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
“Hindi available ang Philsports. Ginawang exclusive for futsal ng PSC,” Malonzo told SPIN.ph.
Following the Pasig-hosted Futsal Women's World Cup, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) announced plans to designate the refurbished arena as the country’s “House of Futsal,” in partnership with FIFA and the PSC, as part of a long-term development initiative for the sport.
For the 2026 All-Filipino Conference, the PVL will instead lean heavily on the Playtime Filoil Centre, which will host 18 of the 33 scheduled playdates.
This will cover nearly the entire preliminary round until March 21, while some dates remain without confirmed venues.
The finals and bronze medal series will be staged at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, while one marquee playdate featuring the Creamline–Choco Mucho clash on February 10 is slated at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Can PVL return to PhilSports soon?
SPIN.ph also learned that the PSC is currently awaiting the formalization of an agreement between FIFA and the PFF, a deal that could ultimately lock in the Philsports Arena as an exclusive futsal venue.
The outcome of those talks is expected to have far-reaching implications beyond futsal, as it will determine whether the PVL and other non-futsal competitions like the PBA, UAAP and NCAA can still stage events at the Pasig venue moving forward.
Malonzo hinted that the door is not entirely shut just yet, with the arena’s availability hinging on whether the agreement pushes through.
“If ‘di matuloy [‘yung agreement], baka later this year, pwede na gumamit ulit,” Malonzo told SPIN.ph.
For now, however, uncertainty looms over Philsports’ role as a multi-sport venue, with volleyball and other leagues forced to wait for the final word from the sport’s governing bodies.
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