The 16 participating teams are split into four single round-robin pools (A, B, C and D) of four teams each for the first stage of the championship.
2023 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship
![WU21 DoL Results](https://images.volleyballworld.com/image/private/t_editorial_landscape_8_desktop_mobile/f_auto/fivb-prd/kgrw8du0d1xigekisdbs.jpg)
The top two teams from each of the four pools advance to single round-robin Pools E and F, while the rest move to single round-robin Pools G and H.
The top two teams from each of the Pools E and F advance to the semifinals, whose winners progress to the gold medal match and losers to the bronze medal match.
The teams placed third and fourth in Pools E and F move on to the playoff 5-8 matches, whose winners progress to the classification match for fifth place and losers move on to the classification match for seventh place.
The top two teams from each of the Pools G and H advance to the playoff 9-12 matches, whose winners progress to the classification match for ninth place and losers to the classification match for 11th place.
The teams placed third and fourth in Pools G and H move on to the playoff 13-16 matches, whose winners progress to the classification match for 13th place and losers move on to the classification match for 15th place.
![AG WU21 WCH23 Competition Formula graphic](https://images.volleyballworld.com/image/private/t_portrait_mobile/f_auto/v1684045826/fivb-prd/rejibggvymd62kfrnr2x.jpg)