The 24 teams have been drawn into four pools of six teams (A, B, C and D).
The teams play each other in a round-robin format, meaning each team plays five matches in the first round.
The winner of each match receives two match points, the loser receives one point and a team that forfeits a match receives no points.
At the end of the round-robin, the top four teams in each pool advance to the second round (16 teams in total), and the bottom two (eight in total) are eliminated.
If two or more teams have the same number of match points, the tie will be broken by points ratio (the number of points won during the five matches, divided by the number of points lost). This rule will also apply for the second round.
The four teams finishing in fifth position in their respective pools will all be given a final ranking of 17th. The four teams finishing sixth in their pools will all be given a final ranking of 21st.
There will be a total of 60 matches in the first round.
The top four teams from Pool A and the top four teams from Pool D will go into Pool E. The top four teams from Pool B and the top four teams from Pool C will go into Pool F.
Each team will play a further four matches in the second round, but only against teams from the different first-round pools. For example, the four teams from Pool A will play only the four teams from Pool D in the second round.
The results and the points of matches in the first round will be carried forward to the second round, and these matches will not be played again.
On completion of the second round, the top six teams in Pool E and top six in Pool F will advance to the final stage (12 teams in total). The bottom two teams in each pool (four teams in total) will be eliminated.
The teams finishing seventh in Pool E and Pool F will both have a final ranking of 13th. The teams finishing eighth in Pool E and Pool F will both have a final ranking of 15th.
There will be a total of 32 matches in the second round.
It is decided by FIVB after all matches were finished on November 29.
The top two teams from Pool E and Pool F will enter the semi-finals, with E1 playing F2 and F1 playing E2. The two winners will meet in the final, and the two losers will play for third and fourth positions.
The teams finishing third and fourth in Pool E and Pool F will decide the final rankings from fifth to eighth. E3 will play F4 and F3 will play E4. The two winners will meet to determine fifth and sixth places, and the two losers will contest the play-off for seventh and eighth places.
The teams finishing fifth and sixth in Pool E and Pool F will decide the final rankings from ninth to 12th. E5 will play F6 and F5 will play E6. The two winners will meet to decide ninth and 10 places, and the two losers will meet to decide 11th and 12th places.
There will be a total of 12 matches in the final classification round, making a total of 104 matches in both the women's and men's competitions.
