Vodafone extends volleyball sponsorship and announces Bolt6 technology partnership

A further three years of support

Vodafone has announced a three-year extension to its title sponsorship of Sultanlar Ligi and main sponsorship of Türkiye’s women’s national volleyball teams. The company will remain on the shirts of the senior national team and the younger age-group teams, while the domestic top division will continue as Vodafone Sultanlar Ligi.

The renewal was announced at Istanbul’s Esma Sultan Mansion with Turkish Volleyball Federation President Mehmet Akif Üstündağ, Vodafone Türkiye CEO Engin Aksoy, national team captain Eda Erdem Dündar and national players taking part. The event also marked the new league season and the national team’s three championship successes during the summer, according to the announcement.

Bolt6 brings a new technology component

Vodafone says its first partnership in the new period is with Bolt6, which works in computer vision, artificial intelligence, deep learning and broadcast technology. The announcement describes Sultanlar Ligi as the first domestic volleyball league to partner with Bolt6.

The planned system combines compact equipment, remote operation and live data. During the play-offs, video challenge system operations are to be managed remotely from a centre in Gliwice, Poland. Vodafone says 5G will also be used in the remote match-operation model, with the aim of strengthening the league’s technical infrastructure and viewing experience.

Continuing earlier sports technology projects

The company says it introduced Hawk-Eye technology into Sultanlar Ligi three years ago to enable real-time tracking of match statistics. It also describes technology support for women’s international volleyball matches played in Türkiye and the transmission of statistics and measurements to broadcasters using its connectivity infrastructure.

At the Ankara stage of the 2026 Volleyball Nations League, Vodafone says its Türkiye Tribünü project used 5G data transmission to bring holographic images and voices of 41 distant supporters into the setting of the Türkiye–Belgium match’s national anthem ceremony.

The company also linked young players from Malatya 44 Volleyball Academy with senior national team players in a shared digital experience. Participants’ movements were transferred into a game in real time, and Vodafone says it created a permanent volleyball court in Malatya as part of its support.

Sponsorship linked to participation and experience

Üstündağ described the relationship as a long-term collaboration extending across the league and national teams. Aksoy said sponsorship should make a practical contribution to the sport, with new technologies used to improve experiences for players and supporters.

The announcement’s technology focus is therefore on both match operations and audience participation. The new three-year agreement continues the existing sponsorship roles while adding the planned Bolt6 partnership and further applications of 5G.