Regional Water Polo League
Southeastern European professional water polo league
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Regional Water Polo League (abbr. RWP), commonly known as the Regional League or Adriatic League, is a temporarily suspended regional water polo league in Southeast Europe. Originally, the league featured clubs from Croatia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. In later years, clubs from Serbia joined the league and in one season club from Italy participated in the league. As of 2025–26 season, the league was suspended due to various reasons.
| Sport | Water polo |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country |  Croatia Italy Montenegro Serbia Slovenia |
| Continent | European Aquatics (Europe) |
Most recent champions | Radnički (2nd title) (2024–25) |
| Most titles | Jug (5 titles) |
| Broadcaster | Arena Sport |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Domestic cup | No |
| Website | rwp-league |
History
The league was established in 2008 as the "Adriatic Water Polo League" and the inaugural 2008–09 season consisted of clubs from Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia. Members of the inaugural season were Jug, Mladost, Primorje, POŠK, Jadran Split, Medveščak Zagreb, Šibenik, Mornar, Jadran, Primorac, Budva, and Koper. The first league champions were VK Jug.
In the 2009–10 season, Cattaro joined the league and the Final Four was introduced into the league. In the 2011–12 season, the Italian water polo club Pro Recco request to join the Adriatic League was granted and immediately in their first season they became champions, but left the league after the season. The Serbian clubs (Partizan, Crvena zvezda, Radnički and Vojvodina) joined the league in the 2014–15 season.[1]
Starting from the 2015–16 season, second-tier Regional League A2 was introduced.[2]
In February 2019, three team members of Serbian club Crvena zvezda were attacked in Split by Croatian ultra-nationalists, before regional league game against Mornar.[3] The incident was condemned by Croatian and Serbian public, and by many organizations and officials as well.[4] Following the incident, the Water Polo Federation of Serbia and Serbian clubs in competition sought to not play any further games in Split, and competition's Board of Directors made a decision to postpone any further games in Split in which Serbian clubs are included.[5]
Starting with the 2020–21 season, the league is played in different format due to the COVID-19 pandemic, having two groups (2020–21 season with host cities being Belgrade and Dubrovnik, and 2021–22 season with host cities Belgrade and Split) and final tournament (2020–21 host being Zagreb, and 2021–22 host being Belgrade);[6] In 2020–21 season, the Serbian club Radnički eventually won their first championship, thus ending 8-year dominance of the Croatian clubs. In 2021–22 season, the newcomer to the competition, Novi Beograd, lifted its maiden trophy.[7]
In August 2025, it was decided that the 2025–26 season would not be played, due to various reasons.[8]
Clubs
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Clubs that participated in the 2024–25 season:
- Regional Water Polo League
All-time participants
The following is a list of clubs who have played in the Regional Water Polo League at any time since its formation in 2008 to the current season. A total of 22 clubs from five countries have played in the top-tier of the Regional League.
| – | Played in second-tier division (established 2015–16) | |||||
| 1st | Champions | |||||
| 2nd | Runners-up | |||||
| 3rd | Third place | |||||
| SF | Semi-finalists | |||||
| R | Regular season champions | |||||
| Club | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | Total seasons |
Highest finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branik Maribor | — | — | — | — | — | 12th | 15th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 12th |
| Budva | 5th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 4th | 6th | 11th | — | 7th | 9th | — | 8th | 12th | 13th | — | — | — | 12 | 4th |
| Cattaro | — | 6th | 12th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 6th |
| Crvena zvezda | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8th | 10th | — | — | 7th | 5th | 5th | 6th | 6th | 5th | 10th | 9 | 5th |
| Jadran Split | 9th | 10th | 10th | 12th | 7th | 9th | 12th | — | 8th | SF | SF | SF | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 16 | 2nd |
| Jadran Herceg Novi | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 5th | 8th | SF | 5th | SF | 2nd | SF | SF | SF | 6th | 5th | 8th | 4th | SFR | 17 | 1st |
| Jug | 1st | 2ndR | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1stR | 1stR | 1stR | 2nd | 2nd | 2ndR | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 8th | 17 | 1st |
| Koper | 10th | 13th | 8th | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 8th |
| Medveščak | 11th | 11th | 9th | 9th | 10th | 10th | 14th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 9th |
| Mladost | 4th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | SF | SF | SF | 2nd | 1stR | 1stR | 4th | 9th | 5th | 9th | 5th | 17 | 1st |
| Mornar | 8th | 8th | 7th | 6th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 6th | 6th | 5th | 6th | 10th | — | 12th | 10th | 11th | — | 15 | 5th |
| Novi Beograd | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1stR | SFR | 1stR | SF | 4 | 1st |
| Partizan | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6th | 5th | SF | 6th | 9th | 9th | 10th | 7th | 9th | 12th | — | 10 | SF |
| POŠK | 12th | 12th | 13th | 8th | 6th | 8th | 10th | 9th | — | 7th | 10th | — | — | — | — | — | — | 10 | 6th |
| Primorac | 3rd | 3rd | 6th | 10th | 9th | 7th | 13th | — | — | 8th | 8th | 6th | 9th | 8th | 12th | — | 7th | 14 | 3rd |
| Primorje | 7th | 7th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1stR | 2nd | 5th | 10th | — | — | 11th | — | — | 7th | 9th | 13 | 1st |
| Pro Recco | — | — | — | 1st | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1st |
| Radnički | — | — | — | — | — | — | SF | 7th | — | — | — | — | 1st | 4th | SF | 6th | 1st | 7 | 1st |
| Solaris | 6th | 9th | 11th | 13th | 12th | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8th | 10th | 11th | 8th | 11th | 11 | 6th |
| Šabac | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5th | 7th | 7th | 11th | 7th | 10th | 6th | 7 | 5th |
| Triglav Kranj | — | — | — | — | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 11th |
| Valis | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12th | 1 | 12th |
| Vojvodina | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9th | 8th | 9th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 8th |
Finals
| Season[9] | Champions | Runners-up | Result | 1st of Regular Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2008–09 |
Jug |
Jadran Herceg Novi |
–note |
Jug |
2009–10 |
Jadran Herceg Novi |
Jug |
11–8 |
Jug (2) |
2010–11 |
Jadran Herceg Novi (2) |
Jug |
9–7 |
Jadran |
2011–12 |
Pro Recco |
Primorje |
15–4 |
Pro Recco |
2012–13 |
Primorje |
Jug |
9–8 |
Primorje |
2013–14 |
Primorje (2) |
Jug |
8–7 |
Primorje (2) |
2014–15 |
Primorje (3) |
Jug |
15–9 |
Primorje (3) |
2015–16 |
Jug (2) |
Primorje |
9–5 |
Jug (3) |
2016–17 |
Jug (3) |
Jadran |
15–3 |
Jug (4) |
2017–18 |
Jug (4) |
Mladost |
15–8 |
Jug (5) |
2018–19 |
Mladost |
Jug |
13–12 |
Mladost |
2019–20 |
Mladost (2) |
Jug |
15–11 |
Jug (6) |
2020–21 |
Radnički |
Jug |
14–12 |
Jug (7) |
2021–22 |
Novi Beograd |
Jadran Split |
14–11 |
Novi Beograd |
2022–23 |
Jug (5) |
Jadran Split |
14–12 |
Novi Beograd (2) |
2023–24 |
Novi Beograd (2) |
Jadran Split |
16–14 |
Novi Beograd (3) |
2024–25 |
Radnički (2) |
Jadran Split |
13–10 |
Jadran Herceg Novi (2) |
note The league was played in a round-robin tournament format.
Awards
| Season[10] | MVP | Top Scorer |
|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | Aleksandar Ivović (Jadran Herceg Novi) | |
| 2009–10 | Aleksandar Ivović (Jadran Herceg Novi) | |
| 2010–11 |  Denes Varga (Primorje) |
Denes Varga (Primorje) Sandro Sukno (Primorje) |
| 2011–12 | Filip Filipović (Pro Recco) |
Darko Brguljan (Budva) |
| 2012–13 | Sandro Sukno (Primorje) |
Aleksandar Ivović (Jug) |
| 2013–14 | Paulo Obradović (Primorje) |
Denes Varga (Primorje Rijeka) |
| 2014–15 | Sandro Sukno (Primorje) | |
| 2015–16 |  Felipe Perrone (Jug) | |
| 2016–17 | Luka Loncar (Jug) |
Paulo Obradović (Jug) |
| 2017–18 | Marko Macan (Jug) |
Luka Bukić (Jug) |
| 2018–19 |  Cosmin Radu (Mladost) |
 Daniil Merkulov (Jug) |
| 2019–20 | Luka Bukić (Mladost) | |
| 2020–21 | Lazar Dobožanov (Radnički) |
Daniil Merkulov (Jug) |
| 2021–22 | Duško Pijetlović (Novi Beograd) |
Nikola Lukić (Radnički) |
| 2022–23 | Toni Popadić (Jug) |
Loren Fatovic (Jug) |
| 2023–24 | Álvaro Granados (Novi Beograd) | |
| 2024–25 |  Valiko Dadvani (Radnički) | |
Records and statistics
Performance by clubs
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jug | 5 | 8 | 2008–09, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2022–23 | 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21 |
| Primorje | 3 | 2 | 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 | 2011–12, 2015–16 |
| Jadran Herceg Novi | 2 | 2 | 2009–10, 2010–11 | 2008–09, 2016–17 |
| Mladost | 2 | 1 | 2018–19, 2019–20 | 2017–18 |
| Novi Beograd | 2 | 0 | 2021–22, 2023–24 | |
| Radnički | 2 | 0 | 2020–21, 2024–25 | |
| Pro Recco | 1 | 0 | 2011–12 | |
| Jadran Split | 0 | 4 | 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25 | |
By country
| Club / Nation | Won | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Croatia |
10 |
15 |
| Serbia |
4 |
0 |
| Montenegro |
2 |
2 |
| Italy |
1 |
0 |
See also
- Euro Interliga
- VRL Water Polo League