The route to the 2026 European Water Polo Championships has been set for the teams seeking qualification for the main stage, as the draw took place on Monday morning in Zagreb, Croatia.
2026 European Water Polo Championships
Qualification Tournaments
(Host cities in brackets)
Men (9-11 June)
Group A (Kranj): Netherlands, Slovenia, Poland, Great Britain, Czechia
Group B (Istanbul): Germany, Slovakia, Türkiye, Finland, Sweden
Group C (Tbilisi): Georgia, Israel, Switzerland, Bulgaria
Group D (Gzira): France, Malta, Ukraine, Portugal
Women (6-8 June)
Group A (Setubal): Czechia, Romania, Portugal
Group B (Hannover): Germany, Turkiye, Malta
Group C (Novi Sad): Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Finland
Group D (Novaky): Israel, Slovakia, Sweden
While the teams that finished in the top eight in the men’s and women’s tournaments in 2024 have already secured their respective berths for the 2026 editions, the others have to play in Qualification Tournaments to return to the main stage.
The two-division format remains for the 2026 Championships, so in June, the advancing sides will book their spots in Division II.
At the Europeans, the best four of them will have the chance to challenge the third and fourth ranked Division I teams in the crossovers. The winners of those matches will not only play in the Quarter Finals, but will also punch their tickets to the 2028 edition.
However, for 18 men’s teams and 13 women’s teams, the road to the Championships is only just about to begin.
In the men’s Qualification Tournaments, it’s hard to see a change of the guard – as the eight teams that contested the 2024 Europeans in Zagreb and Dubrovnik will start as the favourites to make the cut again.
Still, Germany and Slovakia will face some tough challenges from Türkiye, who will play their Qualification Tournament at home in Istanbul.
The women’s landscape is not much different, as the teams finishing 9-16th in the previous edition in Eindhoven look likely to qualify again.
Bulgaria, though, didn’t enter this time, so that opens the door to a new team. The draw offered this chance to Switzerland, Ukraine or Finland as they have been put in the company of Serbia in Group C, where there is only one team that featured in the previous Championships, so there is a gap to be filled.
Also, Portugal, who have made the cut in the past a couple of times, may pose a threat to Czechia and Romania in their home pool in Setubal.
