Ferhat Akbaş Named AVC Coach of the Year

Turkish coach Ferhat Akbaş, head coach of Japan's women's national volleyball team and the first foreign head coach in the program's history, received the Coach of the Year award at the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Gala, held in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 9.

Accepting the award, Akbaş said: "Thank you all so much for this wonderful evening. Actually, this award isn't just mine — it belongs to my tolerant, big family. I have to say that Japan has given me so much. I want to thank the Japan Volleyball Association and the whole Japanese volleyball family. I feel it's my duty to give even more back to them. I want to say this: volleyball is our passion. Let's come together and make volleyball even bigger."

Other AVC Gala 2026 award winners included Mayu Ishikawa (Japan) as Outstanding Female Volleyball Player, Yuki Ishikawa (Japan) as Outstanding Male Volleyball Player, Kim Yeon-koung (South Korea) as AVC Ambassador, Zhu Ting (China) as Fans' Choice Female Player, Bryan Bagunas (Philippines) as Fans' Choice Male Player, and Yuliya Alikulova (Kazakhstan) as Volleyball Rising Star of the Year. In beach volleyball, awards went to Ayaomi Shiba and Reika Murakami (Japan) as Outstanding Female Beach Players, Cherdkiat Yingwae and Ahmed Tijan (Qatar) as Outstanding Male Beach Players, Cherry Ann Rosales and Bernadeth Pons (Philippines) as Fans' Choice Female Beach Players, and Abbas Fouroughgard and Alireza Aghajanighasab (Iran) as Fans' Choice Male Beach Players.