Nooa Marttila joins Serie A club Volley Prata after European Championship bronze

Transfer to Volley Prata

Finnish outside hitter Nooa Marttila has completed a transfer to Italian club Volley Prata ahead of the 2026/27 Serie A season. The 21-year-old was under contract to spend a second consecutive year at French club Arago de Sete, where team management intended to deploy him as the primary offensive leader. Volley Prata acted to sign Marttila to fill a roster opening created by Turkish outside hitter Efe Bayram, who reached a mutual agreement to terminate his contract in order to join Ziraat Bankasi Ankara. The transaction was finalised two weeks before the start of the French league season, leaving Arago de Sete without their main receiver. Club president Alain Bilicki acknowledged that the French organisation possessed no legal or financial mechanism to block the player's departure to Italy.

He could not turn down this offer. From our side, we could not fight it. He has a valid contract, but if he wants to leave, he can do so without any penalties. That is how this system works.

European Championship performance

Italian top-flight interest in Marttila accelerated following his individual scoring output at the men's European Volleyball Championship. Marttila recorded 119 points across the competition and earned selection to the official tournament All-Star dream team at the outside hitter position. He shared the all-star selection with Poland's Wilfredo Leon, who received the tournament Most Valuable Player award after guiding Poland to a third European gold medal and Olympic qualification. In the Finnish national squad, Marttila formed a starting receiver tandem with his older brother, 23-year-old Luka Marttila. Italian volleyball outlet volleyball.it reported that Prata engaged in advanced contract negotiations after Marttila helped lead Finland into the tournament Final Four.

Finland's run to bronze

Finland claimed the bronze medal at the tournament, marking the first podium finish in the national team's history. The squad opened the knockout stage with a five-set tie-break victory against reigning world champions Italy in the quarter-finals. Finland subsequently suffered a 1-3 defeat to France in the semi-finals before defeating Slovenia 3-0 in the third-place match to secure the bronze medal. The tournament results elevated Finland to 10th place in the FIVB world rankings. This ranking improvement positions the Finnish national program for the upcoming qualification process for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Progression through European leagues

The transfer to Volley Prata represents Marttila's first contract in Italy's Serie A. The Finnish player began his professional club career in the domestic Finnish league before securing a move to France with Nice Volley-Ball. Following his stint in Nice, he signed with Arago de Sete, where he spent the 2025/26 season establishing his starting role in the French top flight. Volley Prata will compete in Serie A for the 2026/27 campaign after earning promotion, and Marttila arrives as a direct replacement in their outside hitter rotation.