Watch the 2026 Women’s European Water Polo Championships draw live from Funchal

All eyes will be on the magnificent island of Madeira this week, as the draw for the 2026 Women’s European Water Polo Championships takes place on Thursday 2nd October at 11.30am local time (12.30pm CET).

European Aquatics dignitaries and officials, plus representatives from the qualified teams will be present in Funchal for the official draw, which will determine the group structure for the 21st edition of the prestigious women’s tournament.

Fans from around the continent can watch the eagerly-anticipated proceedings live on the European Aquatics YouTube Channel or via this page by clicking play on the image below.

A total of 16 teams have qualified for the 2026 Women’s European Water Polo Championships, and they will be divided into four groups of four.

Each group will include two teams that finished in the top eight at the previous edition in Eindhoven 2024, and two nations that successfully navigated the qualification tournaments in the summer.

In Funchal, the teams will compete in a round-robin format within their groups, with the top two from each pool progressing to the second group stage.

Groups A and C will combine to form Group E, while Groups B and D will form Group F, and all the results from the first stage will carry over to the second phase, where the teams will face new opponents.

The second Group Stage winners and runners-up will progress to the 1^st-4^th semi-finals, while the 3^rd and 4^th placed teams will contest the 5^th -8^th semi-finals.

Elsewhere, the sides that finish 3rd and 4th in Group Stage I will form two new pools (G and H) of four, before crossover classification games decide the 9^th-16^th rankings.

New MVP awards for men’s and women’s tournaments

In addition to the prestigious trophies and medals on offer, individual MVP awards will be presented after each semi-final, the bronze medal match, and the grand final. A panel of experts will also select the seven standout players from the whole tournament for special recognition.

The nations that qualified by finishing in the top eight at Eindhoven in 2024 are Netherlands, Spain, Greece, Italy, Hungary, France, Great Britain and Croatia, while the nations that progressed through the qualification tournaments in June are Portugal, Germany, Serbia, Israel, Romania, Türkiye, Switzerland and Slovakia.

For Thursday’s draw in Funchal, the batches will be as follows:

Follow the official European Aquatics Water Polo social media accounts for more news and live updates on Facebook and Instagram

Watch live water polo action and replays on European Aquatics TV

Andy Rollé for European Aquatics

The post Watch the 2026 Women’s European Water Polo Championships draw live from Funchal first appeared on European Aquatics®.