2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship

• Belgrade Belgrade was given the hosting rights in May 2022. Winning bid indicated in Bold: • (unknown city) • '''''' (with Funchal as the host city) • (with Tenerife as the host city) After that announcement, Italy and Tenerife, Spain were touted as potential hosts, but on 4 July 2025, Portugal was given the hosting rights with Funchal as the venue. This is Portugal's first time hosting the event and first time the country hosted a senior women's championship in any sport. Miguel Arrobas, President of the Portuguese Swimming Federation said the following: ==Preparations==

• On 28 September 2025, a dedicated website went live. • On 8 October, an information bulletin became available. Tickets Tickets were put on sale on 10 December 2025. Partners and sponsors • Delfina • Epam • Fluidra • Kap Seven • Malmsten ==Format==

A new system was used for this tournament. The new format was unveiled in March 2025. This was the third different format in three editions. • Group stage The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. In each group, there were two teams from the last tournament and two teams from the qualifiers. They played a round-robin in their groups. The top two teams of each group advanced to the main round (Group A & Group C formed Group E and Group B & Group D formed Group F) with all results against the teams that advanced aswell carried over. The bottom two teams were dropped to the classification round, which was played in a similar style to the main round. • Second group stage In the main round, the teams played against opponents from the other first-round group. From this round, the top-two ranked teams of each group advanced to the semifinals; the other teams were dropped to the 5th–8th place semifinals. In the classification round, the teams played against opponents from the other first-round group. Then each team played one classification game for the final position. • Knockout stage The four remaining teams progressed to the knockout stage, where two semifinals and a final determined the European champions. ==Qualification==

16 teams were able to compete at the main event. They were broken up as follows: • The top eight teams from the 2024 European Championship not already qualified as host nation • Final eight from the qualifiers. Of the sixteen teams who qualified, fourteen took part in the previous edition. Switzerland returned for the first time since 1995 and did so on merit for the first time. Portugal comes back for the first time since 2016. Of the absentees, Czechia failed to qualify after appearing in 2024, while 2024 debutants, Bulgaria, didn't enter qualification. The lowest ranked team to qualify was future hosts Portugal, ranked 20th, while Ukraine is the highest ranked team to not qualify, placed 15th. Summary of qualified teams ==Venue==

Similar to 2016, the Štark Arena (now Belgrade Arena) was to be used for the entire competition before their withdrawal. When Funchal was confirmed as the new hosts, the Olympic Swimming Pool Complex was also announced as the venue for competition. The facility was built in 2004 and has recently hosted some Aquatics events, including the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships, 2024 World Para Swimming European Open Championships and the 2025 European Artistic Swimming Championships. ==Draw==

hosted the draw.|300px|right The draw was held at 11:30 WET on 2 October 2025 in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. Before the draw began, speeches were done by Eduardo Jesus, Regional Secretary of Tourism and Culture, Miguel Arrobas, President of the Portuguese Swimming Federation, and European Aquatics president, Antonio Silva. The guests were seven-time Olympic windsurfer, João Rodrigues and Masters Swimming Champion, Susana Gomes, who assisted with the draw. The draw started with, in order, pots 1, 2, 3 and 4 being drawn, with each team selected then allocated into the first available group alphabetically. The position for the team within the group would then be drawn (for the purpose of the schedule). Seeding The pots were decided by the rankings of the 2024 European Championship and also of the 2026 Qualifiers. • Pot 1 consisted of the teams positioned 1–4 in the 2024 Women's European Water Polo Championship • Pot 2 consisted of the teams positioned 5–8 in the 2024 Women's European Water Polo Championship • Pot 3 consisted of the group winners of the 2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship Qualifiers • Pot 4 consisted of the group runners-up of the 2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship Qualifiers Draw results Schedule ==Referees==

On 24 November 2025, the following 18 referees were selected for the tournament. The referees represent 18 countries, including the 16 participating teams alongside match officials from Malta and Ukraine. • Lea Saftić • Aurely Bouchez • Hendrik Schopp • Maxim Gerasimov • Natali Markopoulou • Nóra Debreceni • Ayal Gabel • Alessia Ferrari • Massimo Angilleri • Diana Dutilh Dumas • Luis Santos • Mihnea Alexandrescu • Ivanka Raković Krstonošić • Martina Kuniková • Marta Cabanas • Ruben Garcia • Gökhan Can Ciğer • Anna Goncharenko ==Squads==

Each nation has to submit a list of 15 players. ==Preliminary round==

The match schedule was released on 12 November 2025. Tiebreakers Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 2 points for a penalty shootout win, 1 point for a penalty shootout loss, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings: • Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; • Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; • Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; • Goal difference in all group matches; • Goals scored in all group matches. If the ranking of one of these teams is determined, the above criteria are consecutively followed until the ranking of all teams is determined. If no ranking can be determined, a drawing of lots will decide the outcome. All times are local (UTC±0). Group A ---- ---- Group B ---- ---- Group C ---- ---- Group D ---- ---- ==Classification round==

Group G ---- Group H ---- Placement games 15th place game 13th place game Eleventh place game Ninth place game ==Main round==

All points obtained in the preliminary round against teams that advance as well were carried over. Group E ---- Group F ---- ==Knockout stage==

Bracket 5th–8th place semifinals ---- Semifinals ---- Seventh place game Fifth place game Third place game Final ==Final standings==

Best results Rankings table Qualification table Method of qualification All Star Team The all-star team was announced on 5 February 2026. ==Statistics==

Top goalscorers Top scoring teams Top assisting teams Top sprinting teams Player of the match For the first time, player of the match awards will be given during the knockout stage. A player of the match award is given to the player deemed as playing the best in each match. Notable statistics • Most goals in a game: 36 (Italy 25–11 Turkey, 29 January) • Least goals in a game: 9 (Netherlands 5–4 Hungary, 31 January) • Most goals by a team in a game: 28 (Netherlands 28–2 Switzerland, 27 January; Hungary 28–3 Romania, 27 January; Hungary 28–4 Portugal, 29 January) • Least goals by a team in a game: 2 (Netherlands 28–2 Switzerland, 27 January; Great Britain 20–2 Romania, 30 January) • Biggest goal difference in a game: 26 (Netherlands 28–2 Switzerland, 27 January) • Biggest half time deficit in a game: 16 (Netherlands 17–1 Switzerland, 27 January) • Most goals scored by a player in a game: 9 ( Kitty-Lynn Joustra vs Switzerland, 27 January; Monika Sedlakova vs Romania, 2 February) Notable occurrences • Switzerland won their first game since 1993 after beating Romania 14–12. ==Broadcasting rights==

The television channels broadcasting the event is as follows: ==Notes==