The season for the clubs concluded on Sunday, with Ferencvaros successfully defending its Champions League title.
As previously announced, the upcoming season of European cups will introduce several changes across all competitions.
There will be four competitions, with the Conference Cup being held for the first time.
The number of clubs eligible to participate in the qualifications for the Men’s Champions League and the Euro Cup has been reduced. Only teams from countries ranked 1st to 12th in the European Aquatics Rankings will have the right to participate in these top two competitions.
With most national leagues now completed, Total Waterpolo has made the lists of clubs eligible for participation in the Men’s Champions League, Euro Cup, and Conference Cup. However, it is not guaranteed that all these clubs will enter the European stage next season, as some may withdraw due to high expenses or other reasons.
Additionally, this article outlines the formats of all four European Cups for men in the 2025/26 season. Still, European Aquatics has yet to define the competition formats for some stages of the cups. These will be determined once the lists of participating clubs are finalized.
European Aquatics has not issued a ranking updated with the results from the 2024/25 season (it should be done by the end of this week). However, there won’t be significant changes among the top 12 nations compared to the previous year. None of the countries that ranked in the top 10 in 2024 will drop below 10th place, while Georgia and Turkey will maintain the 11th and 12th positions, respectively.
European Aquatics Men Clubs Country Ranking after the season 2023/24 (1st – 12th place): 1. Italy, 2. Hungary, 3. Spain, 4. Serbia, 5. Greece, 6. Croatia, 7.France, 8. Germany, 9. Romania, 10. Montenegro, 11. Georgia, 12. Turkey
2025/26 Champions League
Federations ranked 1st to 10th in the European Aquatics Men’s Clubs Country Ranking can enter their top two clubs. Nations ranked 11th and 12th are allowed to enter their national champions.
The champions from the top 10 countries are directly qualified for the Group Stage, while all other clubs have to start from the Qualification Round.
Directly qualified for the Group Stage: Ferencvaros (Hungary), Pro Recco (Italy), Barceloneta (Spain), Radnicki (Serbia), Olympiacos (Greece), Jadran Split (Croatia), Marseille (France), Waspo 98 Hannover (Germany), Oradea (Romania), Jadran Herceg Novi (Montenegro).
Qualification Round: Brescia (Italy), Vasas (Hungary), Sabadell (Spain), Novi Beograd (Serbia), Vouliagmeni (Greece), Mladost Zagreb (Croatia), Pays d’Aix (France), Spandau 04 (Germany), Steaua (Romania), Primorac (Kotor), Dinamo Tbilisi – probably, the league hasn’t finished yet (Georgia), Galatasaray (Turkey).
Note: The champions of the countries placed 11th and 12th (Georgia and Turkey) in the Rankings have the option to refuse playing in the Qualifications and to enter the Euro Cup. According to the regulations, the Euro Cup winner can also start the season in the Champions League, but Pro Recco has already qualified as the Italian champion.
Francesco Di Fulvio returns to the Champions League with Pro Recco Photo: Total Waterpolo
The competition format remains the same: 16 teams will be divided into four groups of four for the Group Stage. Therefore, six teams from the qualifications will advance to the Group Stage, while the remaining teams will continue their season in the Euro Cup qualifications. The formula for the qualifications will be defined in accordance with the number of participating clubs.
The Group Stage will take place from October 14/15 to February 10/11. The 1st- and 2nd-placed teams from the four groups of the Group Stage will advance to the Quarter-Final Stage (March 3/4 – May 19/20). The Final Four in Malta will be played between June 11 and 13.
2025/26 Euro Cup
The competition format is similar to that of the Champions League and follows the same structure as the 2025 season; however, the number of participating clubs in the qualifications has changed, just like in the top-tier competition.
The teams that finish in 3rd place from the nations ranked 1st to 10th are directly qualified for the group stage.
The clubs that finish 4th in those countries’ leagues can enter the qualification round. Furthermore, the runners-up from the leagues ranked 11th and 12th also have the opportunity to participate.
Pietro Figlioli will play in the Euro Cup with Savona Photo: KEIO Sabadell
Directly qualified for the Group Stage: Savona (Italy), BVSC (Hungary), Barcelona (Spain), Sabac (Serbia), Panathinaikos (Greece), Jug Dubrovnik (Croatia), Strasbourg (France), ASC Duisburg (Germany), Dinamo Bucharest (Romania), Buducnost Podgorica (Montenegro).
Qualifications: Trieste (Italy), Szolnok (Hungary), Barcelona (Spain), Crvena Zvezda (Serbia), Apollon Smyrnis (Greece), Solaris (Croatia), Montpellier (France), OSC Potsdam (Germany), Rapid Bucharest (Romania), Cattaro (Montenegro), Enka (Turkey), the runner-up in the Georgian League.
Note: If Galatasaray and the Georgian champion withdraw from the Champions League qualifications, they can participate in the Euro Cup Qualifications
Six teams from these qualifications will join the ten teams that have already qualified for the Group Stage.
The top two teams from each of the four groups in the Group Stage will advance to the Eighth-final matches (home and away), where they will be drawn against the third-placed and fourth-placed clubs from the Champions League Group Stage (those that did not qualify for the quarter-finals).
After the Round of 16, the competition will continue with Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Final matches on a home-and-away basis, following the same format as the 2024/25 season.
2025/26 Conference Cup
Federations in positions 1st- 10th in the Clubs Country Ranking can submit entries for the teams that finished 5th and 6th in the national championships.
Nations ranked 11th to 12th can enter up to three clubs—those that secured 3rd, 4th, and 5th places in their leagues. Furthermore, the winner of the 2025 Challenger Cup, along with the champions from countries ranked 13th and lower, are eligible to enter the competition. However, they have the option to withdraw and participate in the Challenger Cup instead of the Conference Cup.
Photo by Laszlo Balogh
The teams that can enter the Conference Cup: Posillipo, De Akker (Italy), Honved, OSC Budapest (Hungary), Mataro, Tenerife (Spain), Partizan, Valis (Serbia), Panionios, PAOK (Greece), Primorje, Mornar (Croatia), Sete, Reims (France), White Sharks, Neukolln Berlin (Germany), CSU Oradea, Politehnica (Romania), Budva (Montenegro- only five clubs participated in the 2025 national league), the teams that finished in 3rd, 4th and 5th place in Turkey and Georgia.
The teams that can choose whether to play in the Conference Cup or the Challenger Cup are: GZC Donk (Netherlands) – the 2025 Challenger Cup winner and champions of all other countries (ranked 13th and below).
All teams that enter will participate in Qualification Round 1. . The competition format and the number of teams qualifying for Round 2 will be determined based on the number of participating clubs.
The best teams from Qualification Round 1, along with the clubs that did not qualify for the Euro Cup Group Stage (excluding those that played in the Champions League qualifications), will compete in Qualification Round 2.
In both qualification rounds, clubs will be drawn into groups, with tournaments held at different venues. The eight best teams from Qualification Round 2 will proceed to the Quarterfinals.
The Quarter Final Stage will be played in a tournament system. The European Aquatics TWPC will define the number of groups (tournaments) and clubs qualified for this phase.
The top four teams in the Quarter-Final Stage will advance to the Final Four.
Challenger Cup
The format of the Challenger Cup differs significantly from that of last season. For the first time, the season will conclude with the Final Eight, which will differ from the former Champions League Final Eight.
Participating teams: The six best-ranked clubs in the national championships of the countries ranked 13th and lower. Only the champions of these countries can choose to play in the Conference Cup instead of the Challenger Cup.
All participating teams will begin in Qualification Round 1. The teams will be divided into groups that will compete at different venues. The formula for the competition and the number of teams moving on to the next round will be determined based on the total number of clubs entered.
The top teams will progress to Qualification Round 2. If any of the clubs from countries ranked 13th or lower choose to participate in the Conference Cup and do not advance to Round 2 of that competition, they will instead continue the season in the Challenger Cup Qualification Round 2.
The top eight teams from Qualification Round 2 will compete in a four-day Final Eight. In the first phase of the F8, the teams will play in two groups. On the first two days of the F8, the three rounds of the group stage will be played.
On the third day of the event, the teams finishing 4th in their groups will play for 7th place, while the third-placed teams will meet in the 5th-place match. The winners and the 2nd-placed teams will face off in the semifinals (A1 vs. B2 and B1 vs. A2). The final and the bronze-medal match will take place on the last day of the Final Eight.
Besides the Final Eight, tournaments for the final classification of places 9th and lower will be held.
