Europe gears up for inaugural men’s Conference Cup season
All eyes will be on the five venues hosting this weekend’s inaugural Men’s Conference Cup Qualification Round I – Utrecht, Nea Smyrni, Belgrade, Split and Rijeka – as 19 teams battle for the 10 tickets on offer to the next round, where they’ll face the sides that didn’t qualify for the Euro Cup Group Stage. Four groups of four teams, and one pool of three in Rijeka (where play begins Saturday), will compete for a top-two finish.
For teams from nations ranked 13th or below – VK Banja Luka (BIH), Vitoria Sport Clube (POR), EVK Zaibas (LTU) and Galatasaray SK (TUR) – failure to qualify will see them continue their European season in the Challenger Cup.
2025/26 Conference Cup Men
Qualification Round I, Day 1
Friday 7 November 2025
(Local times shown)
Group A (Utrecht, NED)
19:00: UZSC Utrecht (NED) v Endo Plus Service Honved (HUN)
20:45: AC PAOK (GRE) v CN Posillipo (ITA)
Group B (Nea Smyrni, GRE)
18:30: CN Tenerife Echeyde (ESP) v PVK Budva Budvanska Rivijera (MNE)
20:30: Panionios GSS (GRE) v White Sharks Hannover (GER)
Group C (Split, CRO)
18:45: VK Banja Luka (BIH) v Sete Natation (FRA)
20:30: VK Mornar Split (CRO) v Vitoria Sport Clube (POR)
Group D (Belgrade, SRB)
19:00: VK Partizan Belgrade (SRB) v SG Neukolln Berlin (GER)
20:45: De Akker Team (ITA) v EVK Zaibas (LTU)
Group A (Utrecht, NED)
19:00: UZSC Utrecht (NED) v Endo Plus Service Honved (HUN)
20:45: AC PAOK (GRE) v CN Posillipo (ITA)
Two former giants of European water polo, CN Posillipo and Endo Plus Service Honved, return to continental action this weekend with hopes of adding the inaugural Conference Cup to their trophy cabinets.
The Italians, three-time European Cup winners (1997, 1998 and 2005), and the Hungarians, champions in 2004, begin their campaigns in Utrecht on Friday.
Honved arrive in fine form after opening their domestic OB I season with six straight wins, the latest a 13-11 victory at Semmelweis. Posillipo’s start has been less convincing, with three defeats from their seven games – though two of those losses came against powerhouses Pro Recco and Brescia.
Greek side AC PAOK, with a strong roster and winners of four of their five national league matches so far, will aim to disrupt the favourites, while hosts UZSC Utrecht will look to their home support to spark an upset in a tough-looking group.
Group B (Nea Smyrni, GRE)
18:30: CN Tenerife Echeyde (ESP) v PVK Budva Budvanska Rivijera (MNE)
20:30: Panionios GSS (GRE) v White Sharks Hannover (GER)
Hosts Panionios are expected to battle CN Tenerife Echeyde for first place in this group, though PVK Budva Budvanska Rivijera – who sit top of the VRL First League – and White Sharks Hannover will both fancy their chances of upsetting the favourites.
“Playing in the Conference Cup is completely different from the Spanish league, so we are excited for this opportunity and very motivated,” said Tenerife Echeyde’s Diego Mercado. “We know Panionios are a good team, but we are ready to face them at their home. Our team is new, but we will approach every game with great motivation.”
As the development team of German giants Waspo 98 Hannover, the White Sharks bring a youthful squad full of promise and energy.
“As a young side, we are aware we are not among the favourites,” said their coach Milan Sagat. “Nevertheless, our aim is to perform at our highest level, gain valuable experience for the future, and show we can compete with every opponent. We’ll give our all to achieve strong results and strive to win each game.”
Group C (Split, CRO)
18:45: VK Banja Luka (BIH) v Sete Natation (FRA)
20:30: VK Mornar Split (CRO) v Vitoria Sport Clube (POR)
“We are approaching this competition with a lot of desire and determination,” commented Sete Natation coach Matthieu Fournier ahead of this weekend’s clashes in Split.
“This is a great opportunity for us to keep progressing and to showcase the hard work we’ve put in since the start of the season.”
“We know it will be a challenge,” added Sete Natation’s Tristan Lopinot. “But we trust our group and can’t wait to face such strong opponents.”
Vitoria Sport Clube coach Vitor Macedo also expects a stern test, particularly against hosts VK Mornar Split, who are one of the favourites to advance.
“We’re looking forward to playing some powerful teams,” he said. “Our goal is to gain experience at this level, be as competitive as we can, and grow individually and as a team.”
VK Banja Luka, meanwhile, are looking to build for the future and will be aware that the safety net of the Challenger Cup awaits if they fail to unsettle their rivals in the hunt for a top-two finish.
Group D (Belgrade, SRB)
19:00: VK Partizan Belgrade (SRB) v SG Neukolln Berlin (GER)
20:45: De Akker Team (ITA) v EVK Zaibas (LTU)
After narrowly losing to GZC Donk in last season’s Challenger Cup two-legged final, EVK Zaibas are ready to build on that sensational run and hit the ground running as their new European campaign begins.
“The atmosphere in our team is focused and determined,” said Zaibas captain Jan Bakulo before Friday’s opening game against De Akker. “We’ve trained hard over the past few days and months to be fully prepared – both tactically and mentally.
“Our defence will be crucial. We need to be aggressive from the first game, keep an eye on certain players and never let our opponents find their rhythm.
“At the same time, we want to attack with confidence and make every chance count. Of course, we know that pressure will be part of every game – but we see it as motivation.
“We showed last season in the Challenger Cup that we can handle pressure, and in the Conference Cup we want to prove that again. I can promise you we’ll fight until the last second – for the club, for the team and for our fans.”
“It will be very hard to play against De Akker – they are very fast and have a small group of talented foreign players,” added Zaibas coach Blagoje Ivovic. “It will also be tough against Partizan, as water polo is the national sport in Serbia and we know they will play very aggressively, with strong pressing.
“We want to see where we are at the moment, because for our guys it’s not easy to wait two and a half months to play our first official games. Our focus is on the first match – to open the tournament well.”
Partizan Belgrade coach Stefan Ciric is also looking forward to the weekend’s action and expects a close contest with Zaibas for a top-two finish.
“We want to make a good start on Friday against Berlin, but Saturday will probably be the most important game for us, against Zaibas,” he said. “They have a lot of experienced players like [Ivan] Krapic and [Marko] Jelaca, so this is the main match for us, and we’ll try to make it out of the qualification round.”
De Akker coach Federico Mistrangelo, meanwhile, is fully aware his side carry the weight of the Italian league’s reputation and the expectation to advance.
“We know we represent a top-level league like Italy’s, and while we respect all our opponents, our goal is to advance to the next round,“ he said.
“The first match will be very important, but we must also consider that playing three games in three days will be tiring, so we have to manage our strength.
“We don’t know our opponents’ qualities in great detail, so we’ll focus primarily on ourselves, trying to impose our game and come out of the water knowing we gave everything.
“It’s also a great honour to be participating in a European competition for the second consecutive year. Last season, the team was overwhelmed by the excitement of our debut.
“It was the start of the campaign, and we still had to complete our integration work. This year, we’ve already played seven league games, so we’re in a much better position.“
Group E (Rijeka, CRO – starts Saturday)
Galatasaray SK (TUR), Solartradex CN Mataro (ESP), VK Primorje Erste Bank (CRO)
This group also boasts a former European giant – VK Primorje Erste Bank, who were continental runners-up in 2012 and 2015 after narrowly losing both finals to Pro Recco.
Since slipping down the ranks after those glory years, they’ve gradually returned to sit back among the top Croatian clubs and also took silver in the 2023/24 Euro Cup after losing to compatriots Jug in the final.
Primorje will enter the weekend’s games high in confidence as well after winning all three of their Prva Liga matches so far this season.
“We have trained well and we’ve also had a very tough league game against Solaris [winning 15-13 at the end of October], which was excellent preparation for these two games, and of course we are hoping to achieve the best possible result,” said VK Primorje’s Antonio Vukojevic.
Standing in the hosts’ way are Galatasaray, boasting a powerful roster and eager to build on their 2023/24 Challenger Cup triumph, and CN Mataro, who have started their domestic season in fine form with four consecutive victories.
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Andy Rollé for European Aquatics
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