This August will bring plenty of water polo action again, especially in the continental age-group competitions, and the highlights of those are definitely the European U20 Water Polo Championships. The men’s event will see Elite and Division I tournaments, to be staged in Varna (BUL) and Oeiras (POR) respectively, while the women’s meet will feature 20 teams, who will play in Oeiras also. The draw for these tournaments will be held on Monday, 16 February.
You can watch the draw live on the link below, or on the European Aquatics YouTube website from 11:30 AM (CET) on Monday, 16 February 2026.
Men’s U20
Elite Championships – Varna, 10-16 August
The participation and seedings for the 16 February draw are based on the results achieved at the U19 Europeans in Burgas 2024. For teams which did not play two years ago, the current Men’s National Teams Rankings will be considered.
Sixteen sides will contest the Elite tournament where the two-division format shall be applied – the top eight teams will form Group A and B, the other eight will be drawn to Group C and D. The first two teams in Group A and B will advance directly to the quarter-final round, while the third and fourth-placed sides have to play crossover matches with the top two ranked teams of Group C and D and the winners will advance to the quarters. Teams finishing 15-16th shall be relegated to Division I for the 2028 edition.
The seedings are as follows:
Group A and B – 1st batch: Croatia, Montenegro; 2nd batch: Spain, Hungary; 3rd batch: Germany, Italy; 4th batch: Serbia, Greece
Group C and D – 1st batch: Netherlands, Türkiye; 2nd batch: Romania, Bulgaria; 3rd batch: France, Malta, 4th batch: Czechia, Slovenia
Division One – Oeiras, 10-16 August
*After Sweden’s recent withdrawal, eleven teams will now take part in this tournament, who will be drawn into one group of six, and one group of five.
*NOTE: The previously presented competition system will be adjusted according to the draw results when
knowing which group will have 6 or 5 teams.
Here are the teams: Georgia, Israel, Poland, Ukraine, Switzerland, Lithuania, Great Britain, Finland, Portugal, Belgium, Team Russia
Women’s U20 – Oeiras, 1-7 August
With 20 entries, there will be one event with an adjusted format with two divisions. The top eight sides shall be drawn into two groups of four, A and B, while the other 12 will form four groups of three. The top two from Group A and B advance to the quarter-finals – the novelty is the system of the crossovers. From Group C–F, the top ranked sides will advance to crossovers and here a draw will be held after the conclusion of the group stage to pair the 3rd and 4th placed sides from Group A against the four group winners in the second division. Teams finishing runners-up in the second division will form a new quartet to play for the 13-16th places in a round robin format and the same applies for the third ranked sides who will play for places 17-20th.
Participating teams (according to the rankings from the U19s in 2024 and based on the national rankings)
First Division: Spain, Hungary, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Netherlands, Israel, France
Second Division: Great Britain, Germany, Ukraine, Türkiye, Romania, Malta, Serbia, Czechia, Switzerland, Portugal, Ireland, Team Russia
Stay tuned to the European Aquatics Water Polo social media accounts for more news and live updates on Facebook and Instagram
Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics
