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26.12.2025.
Belgrade, 26.12.2025. - In 15 days, Serbia will welcome the 16 best European national teams in men's water polo, and fans are already choosing their seats for the European Championship, a sports spectacle, which will be held from January 10 to 25 in the Belgrade Arena. In the largest hall in the Balkans, preparations for the most important competition on the continent are well underway, 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 starting point of a new water polo era. For the first time in the history of this sport, the European Championship for men will be played on a 25-meter court.
Big jubilee
The big jubilee is a special sports treat for players and fans. The European Water Polo Championship is celebrating its centenary, as the first competition was held in 1926 in Budapest, then as part of the "grand 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 record attendance of 18,473 spectators at the then Kombank Arena after the final between Serbia and Montenegro, when Serbia won its third consecutive European Championship title.
Records at the European Championships
In the men's competition, Hungary was the first to cross the mark of 2000 goals, their number is 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 wins at the European Championship, after Hungary, which has won 176 so far.
In terms of individual medals won, Filip Filipović from Serbia has the most medals, 8 in total, including 6 gold, which is also a record. So far, four more Serbian players have won 5 titles each: Slobodan Nikić, Duško Pijetlović, Andrija Prlainović and Živko Gocić. Nikić, Pijetlović and Prlainović have a total of 7 medals each. Another player with a total of 8 medals is Tamas Kasas from Hungary who has a score of 2-2-4.
And the nominees for "European Aquatics athlete of 2025" are…
The title of the best water polo player of the year by European Aquatics will be won by some of the 5 most outstanding players, including Alvaro Granados from Spain, Krisztian Manhercz from Hungary, Stylianos Argyropoulos from Greece, Bernat Sanahuja from Spain and Dušan Mandić from Serbia. The prize will be awarded at the opening ceremony of the championship, on January 9.
Secure your tickets in time!
Tickets for the long-awaited European Championship are on sale at the Tickets sales network and online at https://tickets.rs/tour/european_aquatics_water_polo_championship_men_belgrade_2026_2321 .
Ticket prices for the group stage, from the 1st to the 6th day of the competition, range from 700 to 3000 dinars for two games. For 7.8. and the 9th day of the competition, tickets are on sale at the price of 700, 900, 1200, 1500, 1900 and 3000 dinars, depending on the seat position, while the prices also apply to 2 or 3 games per session. Ticket prices for 3 games per session for the 10th, 11th and 12th competition days range from 900 to 3500 dinars, and for the 13th competition day, which includes 2 games each, from 700 to 3000 dinars. On the 14th day, the semi-final matches will be held, and ticket prices will range from 1700 to 6000 dinars. On the 15th day of the competition, a match for third place and the final are expected, and tickets can be obtained at prices from 3000 to 8000 dinars. The matches are arranged by sessions, so one price is valid for several matches depending on the selected session.
16 national teams will compete for the title of European champion at the 37th championship, including, in addition to Serbia, Spain, Croatia, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Georgia, Italy, Hungary, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, France, Slovenia, Turkey, Malta and Israel. The audience will have the opportunity to enjoy the competition of the best national teams, and the wider list of the Serbian national team is already known.
The selector of our national team, Uroš Stevanović, determined the list of candidates who are currently preparing in Greece. The list includes: Radoslav Filipović, Vladimir Mišović, Milan Glušac, Nikola Murišić, Nemanja Vico, Đorđe Lazić, Sava Ranđelović, Nikola Jakšić, Radomir Drašović, Petar Jakšić, Luka Pljevančić, Miloš Ćuk, Strahinja Rašović, Nikola Lukić, Vasilije Martinović, Nikola Dedović, Dušan Mandić, Viktor Rašović and Luka Gladović.
From December 26 to 29, joint preparations with the Greeks will be held in Athens with the official match on December 28, and on the first day of the New Year, they will travel to Trebinje for the final preparations. A strong tournament will be organized where, in addition to Serbia, Greece, Italy, Hungary, France and Spain will play.
The new format for the men's tournament will begin with a group stage with four groups of four teams each. The groups will consist of two selections that finished among the eight best in 2024 and two teams that successfully went through the qualifications. Each team will play each opponent in their group, with one day of rest between games. After the group stage, the three most successful teams from each group go to the next stage, so the best 12 teams will form two new groups of six teams each - Group E (teams from groups A and C) and Group F (teams from groups B and D). All points won during the first phase will be transferred to the second phase, where each team will play three more games against new opponents, before the knockout phase of the competition will follow.
The two best teams in both groups will play in the semi-finals, while the others will fight for the fifth to 12th place. The teams that finished the competition in the first phase will also fight among themselves for the 13th to 16th place.
From January 10 to 25, Serbia will once again be the center of the water polo world, and the Belgrade Arena will be the place where new history is being written.
Tickets are on sale at the Tickets sales network and online at https://tickets.rs/tour/european_aquatics_water_polo_championship_men_belgrade_2026_2321 .
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