In 15 days, Serbia will welcome 16 of Europe’s best men’s water polo teams, and fans are already busy choosing their seats for the European Championship, a sporting spectacle that will be held from 10 to 25 January at the Belgrade Arena. Preparations for the most important competition on the continent are well underway in the largest hall in the Balkans, and tickets are on sale.
A new water polo era begins in Belgrade
It is in Belgrade that we will witness historic changes in European water polo, and Serbia will be the place where a new era of water polo begins. For the first time in the history of this sport, the European Men’s Championship will be played on a 25-meter court.
Great Jubilee
A special sporting treat for players and fans alike is a grand jubilee. The European Water Polo Championship is celebrating its centenary, as the first competition was held in Budapest in 1926, then as part of the “major championships”, which were held together with swimming and diving competitions. To date, 36 editions have been held in the men’s competition, and expectations for the 37th edition in Belgrade are high, given that in 2016 Belgrade recorded a world attendance record of 18,473 spectators in the then Kombank Arena after the final between Serbia and Montenegro, when Serbia won its third consecutive European title.
Records at the European Championships
In the men’s competition, Hungary was the first to cross the 2000 goal mark, with 2184. Serbia and Italy are getting closer to the record (1823 and 1839 goals so far).
Serbia is three wins away from becoming the second team to achieve 150 victories at the European Championship, after Hungary, which has had 176 victories so far.
In terms of individual medals won, Filip Filipović from Serbia has the most medals, a total of 8, including 6 golds, which is also a record. So far, four other Serbian players have won 5 titles each: Slobodan Nikić, Duško Pijetlović, Andrija Prlainović and Živko Gočić. Nikić, Pijetlović and Prlainović have a total of 7 medals each. Another player with a total of 8 medals is Tamás Kasás from Hungary, who has a result of 2-2-4.
Famous names of the nominees for “European Aquatics Water Polo Player of the Year 2025”
The title of the best water polo player of the year of the European Aquatics will be won by some of the 5 most prominent players, including Álvaro Granados from Spain, Krisztian Manhercz from Hungary, Stylianos Argyropoulos from Greece, Bernat Sanahuja from Spain and Dušan Mandić from Serbia. The award will be presented at the opening ceremony of the championship on January 9th.
