2025–26 European Aquatics Challenger Cup
Water polo sports season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2025–26 European Aquatics Challenger Cup is the 4th edition of the now quaternary water polo competition organised by European Aquatics.
SportWater polo
DateQualification Round I:
28–30 November 2025
Qualification Round II:
13–15 February 2026
Final classification:
13–15 February 2026
Final Eight:
12–15 March 2026
28–30 November 2025
Qualification Round II:
13–15 February 2026
Final classification:
13–15 February 2026
Final Eight:
12–15 March 2026
Tournament
format(s)
Round Robin and Knockout stageformat(s)
TeamsQualification round I: 14 [A]
Qualification round II: 8+4
Final classification: 6
Final Eight: 8
Total: 14+4 (from 9 countries)
Qualification round II: 8+4
Final classification: 6
Final Eight: 8
Total: 14+4 (from 9 countries)
| 2025–26 | |
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Water polo |
| Date | Qualification Round I: 28–30 November 2025 Qualification Round II: 13–15 February 2026 Final classification: 13–15 February 2026 Final Eight: 12–15 March 2026 |
Tournament format(s) | Round Robin and Knockout stage |
| Teams | Qualification round I: 14 [A] Qualification round II: 8+4 Final classification: 6 Final Eight: 8 Total: 14+4 (from 9 countries) |
| Website | Official website |
| Final positions | |
| Champion |  Galatasaray SK |
| Runner-up |  EVK Zaibas |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 69 |
Starting this season, it acts as the fourth tier, due to the introduction of the European Aquatics Conference Cup. The winners of the European Aquatics Challenger Cup automatically qualify for next season's Conference Cup (if they choose to enter).
GZC Donk are the defending champions but will not be defending their title after not entering this season.
Galatasaray SK won their second title after beating EVK Zaibas 13–11 in the final.[1]
Rankings
The results were based on the results of the past four seasons.[2]
- Associations 13 and below can have six teams qualify.
Apart from the distribution based on the rankings, countries could have additional teams participating in the Challenger Cup, as noted below:
- (CC) – Additional teams dropping down from the Conference Cup
| Rank[3] | Association | Points | Teams | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Italy |
99,917.5 | 0 | |
| 2 |  Hungary |
80,465 | ||
| 3 |  Serbia |
71,510 | ||
| 4 |  Spain |
69,187.5 | ||
| 5 |  Greece |
59,917.5 | ||
| 6 |  Croatia |
59,642.5 | ||
| 7 |  France |
41,195 | ||
| 8 |  Germany |
24,812.5 | ||
| 9 |  Romania |
23,817.5 | ||
| 10 |  Montenegro |
18,647.5 | ||
| 11 |  Georgia |
10,292.5 | ||
| 12 |  Netherlands |
5,790 | ||
| 13 | Turkey |
5,722.5 | 2 | +1 (CC) |
| 14 |  Portugal |
5,292.5 | 1 | +1 (EC) |
| 15 |  Switzerland |
4,245 |
| Rank[4] | Association | Points | Teams | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 |  Slovenia |
3,800 | 2 | |
| 17 | Lithuania |
3,677.5 | 0 | +1 (EC) |
| 18 |  Slovakia |
3,555 | ||
| 19 |  Great Britain |
2,280 | 2 | |
| 20 |  Belgium |
2,170 | 1 | |
| 21 |  Israel |
1,850 | ||
| 22 |  Cyprus |
1,490 | ||
| 23 |  Malta |
1,472 | 2 | |
| 24 |  Finland |
1,420 | 1 | |
| 25 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
1,190 | 0 | +1 (EC) |
| 26 |  Russia |
1,087.5 | ||
| 27 |  Bulgaria |
370 | ||
| 28 |  Poland |
317.5 | ||
| 29 |  Denmark |
280 |
Ranking facts
| Biggest fall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Ori | New | Move |
| 1 | Russia |
13 | 26 |  –13 |
| 2 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
20 | 25 | –5 |
| 3 | Denmark |
25 | 29 | –4 |
| New entries |
|---|
| None |
| Leaving entries |
|---|
| None |
Teams
Six teams from countries ranked 13 and below are permitted to enter.
Everyone who enters starts in the qualification round I.
Unlike last season, in the event that a club decides not to enter, the next best ranked team is not allowed to take their place.[5]
Qualified teams
The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:
- 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc: League positions of the previous season
- CC: Transferred from the Conference Cup
- QR: Transferred from the Conference Cup qualification round I
| Entry round | Teams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualification round II | Galatasaray SK (CC QR) |
Vitória SC (CC QR) |
EVK Zaibas (CC QR) |
VK Banja Luka (CC QR) | |
| Qualification round I | Enka Sport Club (2nd) |
Heybeliada ASC (3rd) |
Clube Naval Povoense (5th) |
Carouge Natation (2nd) | |
| AVK Branik Maribor (1st) |
VK Ljubljana Slovan (2nd) |
West London Penguin (1st) |
Welsh Wanderers (3rd) | ||
| Royal Dauphins Mouscronnois (1st) |
Hapoel Palram Zvulun (1st) |
APOEL Nicosia (1st) |
San Giljan ASC (1st) | ||
| Sliema ASC (2nd) |
Cetus Espoo (1st) |
||||
Name changes
The following teams' names were changed during the season.
| Original name | New name | Matchday |
|---|---|---|
| Sliema ASC | Sliema ASC Nexawin | Qualification round II |
Rounds and draw dates
Schedule
| Phase | Draw date | Round date[6] |
|---|---|---|
| Qualification round I | 11 August 2025 | 28–30 November 2025 |
| Qualification round II | 8 December 2025 | 13–15 February 2026 |
| Final classification | ||
| Final Eight | 16 February 2026 | 12–15 March 2026 |
Qualification round I
The top two qualify for the next round. The draw was on 11 August 2025 in Zagreb, Croatia.[7][8] The seeding is based on the club rankings.[9]
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SLI | GIL | HAP | APO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sliema ASC (H) |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 35 | +30 | 9 | Qualification round II | — | — | 18–13 | 28–9 | |
| 2 | San Giljan ASC |
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 53 | 39 | +14 | 6 | 13–19 | — | — | — | ||
| 3 | Hapoel Palram Zvulun |
3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 44 | −4 | 3 | — | 10–14 | — | 17–12 | ||
| 4 | APOEL Nicosia |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 31 | 71 | −40 | 0 | — | — | 10–26 | — |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MAR | CAR | SLO | NAV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AVK Branik Maribor (H) |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 31 | +27 | 9 | Qualification round II | — | 20–13 | 17–12 | 21–6 | |
| 2 | Carouge Natation |
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 40 | +4 | 6 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 3 | VK Ljubljana Slovan |
3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 38 | 42 | −4 | 3 | — | 9–13 | — | 17–12 | ||
| 4 | Club Naval Povoense |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 56 | −27 | 0 | — | 11–18 | — | — |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ENKA | HEY | WEL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Enka Sport Club (H) |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 17 | +35 | 6 | Qualification round II | — | 21–7 | 31–10 | |
| 2 | Heybeliada ASC |
2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 29 | 33 | −4 | 3 | — | — | — | ||
| 3 | Welsh Wanderers |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 53 | −31 | 0 | — | 12–22 | — |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MOU | CET | PEN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RD Mouscronnois (H) |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 6 | Qualification round II | — | 15–12 | 24–14 | |
| 2 | Cetus Espoo |
2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 3 | — | — | 12–9 | ||
| 3 | West London Penguin |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 36 | −13 | 0 | — | — | — |
Qualification round II
The top two teams in each group qualify will advance to the next round. The draw was on 8 December 2025 in Zagreb, Croatia.[10]
Group A
13–15 February 2026, Elektrėnai, Lithuania.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SLI | ZAI | CET | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sliema ASC Nexawin |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 24 | +11 | 6 | Final Eight | — | — | 23–14 | |
| 2 | EVK Zaibas (H) |
2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 23 | +8 | 3 | 10–12 | — | 21–11 | ||
| 3 | Cetus Espoo |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 44 | −19 | 0 | — | — | — |
Group B
13–15 February 2026, Maribor, Slovenia.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | GIL | MAR | BAN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Giljan ASC |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 21 | +27 | 6 | Final Eight | — | — | — | |
| 2 | AVK Branik Maribor (H) |
2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 53 | 32 | +21 | 3 | 19–21 | — | 34–11 | ||
| 3 | VK Banja Luka |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 61 | −48 | 0 | 2–27 | — | — |
Group C
13–15 February 2026, Istanbul, Turkey.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ENK | GAL | CAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Enka Sport Club |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 21 | +14 | 6 | Final Eight | — | — | 20–7 | |
| 2 | Galatasaray SK (H) |
2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 42 | 19 | +23 | 3 | 14–15 | — | 28–4 | ||
| 3 | Carouge Natation |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 48 | −37 | 0 | — | — | — |
Group D
13–15 February 2026, Maribor, Slovenia.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | VIT | HEY | MOU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vitória SC |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 26 | +3 | 6 | Final Eight | — | — | 18–17 | |
| 2 | Heybeliada ASC |
2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 27 | −2 | 2 | 9–11 | — | — | ||
| 3 | RD Mouscronnois |
2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 34 | −1 | 1 | — | 20–21[a] | — |
Source: European Aquatics Challenger Cup
- Match ended 16–16. Heybeliada ASC won 4–5 on penalties.
Final classification
9–12th place group
13–18th place group
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | HAP | SLO | PEN | NAV | APO | WEL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Hapoel Palram Zvulun |
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 103 | 46 | +57 | 15 | — | — | — | — | 21–9 | — | |
| 14 | VK Ljubljana Slovan (H) |
5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 87 | 65 | +22 | 12 | 13–17 | — | 19–14 | — | 16–11 | 21–13 | |
| 15 | West London Penguin |
5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 54 | 71 | −17 | 6[a] | 6–20 | — | — | — | 8–9 | 10–9 | |
| 16 | Club Naval Povoense |
5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 61 | 85 | −24 | 6[a] | 8–25 | 10–18 | 14–16 | — | 13–11 | 16–15 | |
| 17 | APOEL Nicosia |
5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 51 | 69 | −18 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 18 | Welsh Wanderers |
5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 58 | 78 | −20 | 2 | 10–20 | — | — | — | 21–20[b] | — |
Final Eight
The draw was on 16 February 2026 in Zagreb, Croatia.[11] The Final Eight was held in Istanbul by Enka Sport Club from 12–15 March 2026.[12]
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ZAI | ENK | MAR | VIT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EVK Zaibas |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 9 | Semi-finals | — | — | — | 16–14 | |
| 2 | Enka Sport Club (H) |
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 49 | 38 | +11 | 6 | 11–16 | — | 21–13 | 17–9 | ||
| 3 | AVK Branik Maribor |
3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 52 | −12 | 3 | 5th place match | 9–15 | — | — | — | |
| 4 | Vitória SC |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 0 | 7th place match | — | — | 16–18 | — |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | GAL | SLI | GIL | HEY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galatasaray SK |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 25 | +30 | 9 | Semi-finals | — | — | — | 18–7 | |
| 2 | Sliema ASC Nexawin |
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 49 | −3 | 6 | 5–23 | — | 16–15 | 25–11 | ||
| 3 | San Giljan ASC |
3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 46 | +4 | 3 | 5th place match | 13–14 | — | — | — | |
| 4 | Heybeliada ASC |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 34 | 65 | −31 | 0 | 7th place match | — | — | 16–22 | — |
Source: European Aquatics Challenger Cup
Knockout stage
7th place match
| 7th place match | ||
| 14 March | ||
| Vitória SC | 18 | |
| Heybeliada ASC | 9 | |
5th place match
| 5th place match | ||
| 14 March | ||
| AVK Branik Maribor | 9 | |
| San Giljan ASC | 24 | |
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| EVK Zaibas | 13 (5) | |||||
| Sliema ASC Nexawin | 13 (3) | |||||
| EVK Zaibas | 11 | |||||
| Galatasaray SK | 13 | |||||
| Galatasaray SK | 20 | |||||
| Enka Sport Club | 9 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| Sliema ASC Nexawin | 17 | |||||
| Enka Sport Club | 15 | |||||
Third place game
| 15 March 2026 10:00 |
Report | Sliema ASC Nexawin |
17–15 | Enka Sport Club |
Enka Sport Club Pool, Istanbul Referees: Manuel Manea (ROU), Roeland Sonnemans (NED) |
| Score by quarters: 4–6, 6–3, 5–3, 2–3 | |||||
| Cachia 4 | Goals | Duzenli 4 | |||
Final
| 15 March 2026 12:30 |
Report | EVK Zaibas |
11–13 | Galatasaray SK |
Enka Sport Club Pool, Istanbul Referees: Andreja Stanojevic (SRB), Vlaho Radicevic (CRO) |
| Score by quarters: 6–5, 2–4, 1–2, 2–2 | |||||
| Jelača 4 | Goals | Gak 3 | |||
| 2025–26 European Aquatics Challenger Cup Champions |
|---|
 Galatasaray SK Second title |
Notes
- From 10 countries
See also
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Champions League
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Euro Cup
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Conference Cup
- 2025 European Aquatics Super Cup
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Women's Champions League
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Women's Euro Cup
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Women's Conference Cup
- 2025–26 European Aquatics Women's Challenger Cup
- 2025 European Aquatics Women's Super Cup
