2026 Men's European U-20 Water Polo Championship
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Bulgaria |
| City | Varna |
| Dates | 10–16 August |
| Teams | 16 (from 1 confederation) |
| Official website | |
| [ Varna 2026] | |
The 2026 Men's European U-20 Water Polo Championship is the 29th edition of the biannual continental tournament in men's under-20 national water polo teams, organised by Europe's governing aquatics body, European Aquatics. The tournament takes place from 10 to 16 August 2026.[1] Starting this edition, the age level has changed from U19 to U20.[2]
Coimbra in Portugal was supposed to host the event instead but,[3] for the second time in a row, Bulgaria was given the hosting rights.[4] This will be the fourth time the country hosts the event, after 1982, 1990 and 2024. The host city will be Varna, who will host the event for the third time.
Sixteen teams will take part, with the rankings from the previous edition deciding who qualified. For the first time, a promotion and relegation system will be used for the competition. Croatia are the defending champions after beating Montenegro in the 2024 final in Burgas.
The 16 teams are sorted into two Divisions, based on the last edition and the qualifiers. The top eight teams made Division 1 and the other eight teams Division 2. Both divisions were split into two groups of four teams. The top two teams from each group of Division 1 advanced directly to the quarterfinals, while the other two teams from each group played against one of the top two sides from each group in Division 2 in a play-off round. Starting with quarterfinals onward, the regular knock-out system was used.
Qualification
- The sixteen teams were decided by the rankings from the previous edition.
| Event | Date | Location | Quotas | Nation(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 European Championship | 1–7 September 2024 |  Burgas |
16 |  Croatia Montenegro Spain Hungary Germany Italy Serbia Greece Netherlands Turkey Romania Bulgaria France Malta Czech Republic Slovenia |
Draw
The draw took place on 16 February 2026.[5][6] The seeding was based off the results of the 2024 European Championship.
