The Regional League, with the participation of the clubs from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and occasionally Slovenia, will not be held this season, as previously decided.
However, Serbian and Montenegrin clubs and their national federations have reached an agreement to establish a joint competition this season.
During a meeting in Belgrade today, the water polo federations of the two countries agreed to launch a Regional League, which should start in late September. In the coming ten days, discussions will intensify regarding the formation of committees and working groups that will be responsible for making all necessary decisions for the League’s operation, the two federations announced.
Eight clubs will play in the Premier League – the top five from the 2025 Serbian League (Radnicki, Novi Beograd, Sabac, Crvena Zvezda, and Partizan) and the top three from last season’s Montenegrin Championships (Jadran HN, Primorac, Buducnost). After 14 rounds in the regular season, the top four teams will advance to the final tournament.
As for the A1 Regional League (the second-tier competition), there will be nine clubs: Valis, Nais, Stari Grad, NBG Vukovi, Vojvodina, Zemun, Beograd (Serbia), Cattaro, and Budva (Montenegro). This league will be in a similar system, but there will be two rounds at each competition weekend.
The representatives of the two national federations, and several clubs (Radnicki, Novi Beograd, Vojvodina, and Budva) attended the meeting in Belgrade, the two federations said at the end of their official announcements.
Sponsors, prizes, headquarters?
Montenegrin clubs and their federation are clearly most concerned about the survival of the league. Unlike Serbia and Croatia, Montenegro has few clubs, and without a regional competition, these clubs would suffer the most. Consequently, it appears that the Montenegrins played a significant role in establishing a new competition.
During the meeting between the three federations held three weeks ago, the Montenegrins presented some proposals regarding various issues, primarily focused on improving financial conditions. However, the only proposal that was accepted was the one that came from the Croatian WP Federation, about the cancellation of the 2025/26 season. The three parties agreed that they would continue discussions about the future of the league from the 2026/27 season..
Some of the major challenges faced by participating clubs in the previous seasons were high costs and a lack of monetary prizes. According to unofficial reports, a new sponsor (or sponsors) is expected to cover the expenses for officials in a new league, and funds for monetary prizes have also been secured. The League’s headquarters will be located in Montenegro, although confirmation of this information is still pending, too. All details are expected to be revealed within the next ten days.
It remains to be seen whether Croatian clubs will join the League for the 2026/27 season.
