One of the most eagerly awaited draws of the water polo club season has produced a series of tough pools for the Champions League Group Stage, with last season’s finalists Barceloneta and Recco both facing challenging routes through to the next stage.
2026/27 Champions League Men
Group Stage Draw
Group A: Olympiacos SFP (GRE), Waspo 98 Hannover EV (GER), VPK Jadran M:Tel Herceg Novi (MNE), Astralpool CN Sabadell (ESP)
Group B: Pro Recco (ITA), SPD Radnicki (SRB), AN Brescia (ITA), CSM Oradea (ROU)
Group C: Zodiac CNAB (ESP), HAVK Mladost (CRO), VK Novi Beograd Tehnomanija (SRB), VK Jadran Split (CRO)
Group D: FTC-Telekom Waterpolo (HUN), CN Marseille (FRA), Panathinaikos AC (GRE), CSA Steaua Bucurest (ROU)
If there ever was a case for the label of ‘Group of Death’, it surely belongs to Group B. Eleven-time winners and last season’s runners-up Pro Recco have been drawn alongside Serbia’s powerhouse Radnicki and Italian rivals Brescia. With Oradea completing the group, the battle for the two qualifying places promises to be nothing but fierce.
Radnicki fell at the Group Stage last season, but the Serbians have lost none of their strength since then. However, taking on Italy’s top two sides represents a formidable challenge for the Kragujevac team.
Title-holders Zodiac CNAB have also been handed a demanding route. Their Tour de Balkans will take them to Croatia twice and Serbia once, including a visit to the April 11 pool in Novi Beograd – the venue every team will want to return to next May for the Final Four.
The Spaniards remain the favourites to progress, but the battle for the second qualifying spot could be particularly intense.
Croatian rivals Mladost and Jadran are set for a couple of heavyweight encounters, while Novi Beograd will be determined to make the next round and earn the chance to return to their home pool for the finals.
Three-time champions and last season’s bronze medallists FTC-Telekom will also have to navigate a tricky path.
Euro Cup winners Marseille and Greece’s second-ranked side Panathinaikos will provide serious tests for the Hungarians, with their meetings likely to prove crucial in the race for the Quarter Final Stage.
Steaua may be the underdogs, but a trip to their pool will be no straightforward assignment for any visiting side.
Among the top seeds, Olympiacos appear to have the clearest route to the top eight, although Sabadell and Herceg Novi showed their quality last season.
Then there is Waspo Hannover. In Sabadell, they will remember only too well the cost of underestimating the Germans after Waspo upset both the Spaniards and Marseille last season to claim the group’s second qualifying spot.
This season’s highly anticipated action gets under way on 6th October. The format remains unchanged from previous years, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the Quarter Final Stage, while the third- and fourth-placed sides will continue in the Euro Cup Eight Finals.
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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics
