European Aquatics has revealed that the 2026 European Water Polo Championships will take place in two locations. The men’s tournament will be held in Belgrade, Serbia, from 10th to 25th January. The venue and dates for the women’s tournament will be announced soon.
Both events will feature 16 teams competing for the title of European champions.
In 2024, the championships were also held in two countries: Spain won the men’s gold in Croatia, while the Netherlands took the women’s title at home in Eindhoven.
New Format – Men’s Tournament
The men’s tournament will run for 16 days and start with a group stage:
- Group Stage I:
Four groups of four teams each. Every group will include two teams from the 2024 top eight and two qualifiers.
Each team plays the other three in their group, with a rest day between matches. - Group Stage II:
The top three teams from each group move on, forming two new groups of six (Group E and Group F).
Points from Stage I carry over, and teams play three new matches. - The four teams finishing last in Group Stage I will play each other to determine 13th–16th place.
- Knockout Rounds:
The top two teams from each new group will go to the semi-finals (1st–4th places), while the others play classification matches for places 5th–12th.
New Format – Women’s Tournament
The women’s tournament will last 11 days and follow a similar format:
- Group Stage I:
Four groups of four teams (same top-eight and qualifier structure). - Group Stage II:
Top two teams from each group move to new groups (E and F) and carry over their points. They then play two more matches. - The winners and runners-up go to the 1st–4th semi-finals.
The 3rd and 4th place teams go to the 5th–8th semi-finals. - The remaining teams from Stage I form Groups G and H, with classification matches to rank them 9th–16th.
New MVP Awards
There will be new MVP awards for both tournaments, presented after the semi-finals, bronze medal matches, and finals. A panel will also pick the top seven players of the tournament.
Who Has Qualified?
Men’s Teams (Already Qualified):
- Serbia
- Croatia
- Spain
- Italy
- Greece
- Montenegro
- Hungary
- Romania
The rest will qualify through summer tournaments in Malta, Slovenia, Türkiye, and Georgia (8–11 June 2025).
Women’s Teams (Already Qualified):
- Netherlands
- Spain
- Great Britain
- Greece
- Italy
- Hungary
- France
- Croatia
The remaining teams will be decided in qualifiers in Portugal, Germany, Serbia, and Slovakia (6–8 June 2025).
Historic Venue
The men’s event returns to Belgrade Arena, which also hosted the 2016 tournament. That year, Serbia won the men’s title in front of 18,000 fans, while Hungary won the women’s title.
For more info and updates, visit European Aquatics or download the European Aquatics app on Google Play.
