The city of Manisa, situated in the Aegean region of western Turkey, is renowned for its historical and agricultural significance, but it is currently in the spotlight for a different reason.
Over the next three weeks, the city will be fully immersed in the excitement of both the women’s and men’s U17 European Water Polo Championships
The women’s competition commences today (29th), while we have to wait until the 8th of August for the men’s action to begin.
Notably, the women’s tournament will see a new champion crowned, with the absence of the reigning champions and four-time winners, Russia, who are currently barred from competing.
With the vacant throne in the women’s championship, three favourites emerge, including two teams that stood on the podium in the previous edition of the competition. Greece, the runners-up, and Hungary, the bronze medalists, bring strong contention to the tournament, with nine Hungarian players arriving in Manisa as U16 World Champions from Larissa last summer. It is worth mentioning that Hungary has not secured gold in this specific age group since 1998, a 24-year gap.
Hungary are the team to beat.
Spain, despite a remarkable performance in winning the previous two tournaments in 2019 (Volos) and 2017 (Novi Sad), surprisingly missed out on a medal in Sibenik in 2021 for the first time in eleven years, so they’ll want to get back where they belong – three weeks on from their U15 European triumph in Zagreb. .
Aligned with the modifications introduced by World Aquatics for their World U20 Championships, the group stage of the European age-group Championships will be bifurcated into two divisions. The first division will comprise the top eight teams based on their rankings from the previous championships in the respective age group, while the remaining teams will form the second division. Within the higher division, the eight participating teams will be divided into two groups – Group A and Group B. The two group winners will secure direct qualification to the quarterfinals. As for the second division, the remaining eight teams will be allocated into two groups: Group C and Group D. In this stage, they will also partake in a round-robin tournament, competing against each other to determine their standings. The teams that emerge as group leaders in both Group C and Group D will proceed to engage in cross-over matches against the fourth-placed teams from Groups A and B, respectively. Likewise, the second-ranked teams from Group C and Group D will face off against the third-placed teams from Groups A and B. The victorious teams from these cross-over matches will advance to the quarterfinals, vying for a coveted spot in the subsequent stages of the championships. 
U17 European Championships, Manisa, Turkiye, Women’s Tournament Groups
Group A – Croatia, Spain, Hungary, Italy
Group B – France, Greece, Israel, Netherlands
Group C – Malta, Romania, Switzerland, Slovakia
Group D – Great Britain, Turkiye, Ukraine, Ireland, Serbia
Day 1, U17 Women’s European Championships, Manisa Turkiye
It was an excellent opening day to celebrate for Turkey, who secured two important victories to open their home tournament.
The home side built momentum in their first game with a commanding 19-6 win over Ukraine before a hard-fought 9-5 victory over Great Britain in the evening. Hanzade Dabbag was instrumental for the hosts, scoring four in the first and six in the second victory. The Turks outclassed the Ukrainians in the first game, but their defense held strong for 15 minutes against the Brits to see out a 9-5 win.
However, it wasn’t all bad for Team GB, who won the tournament opener against their neighbouring rivals, the Republic of Ireland (21-3). Amelie Perkins found a double hat-trick, with three of her six goals coming from the 5m penalty line.
Serbia made a positive start to their campaign in Manisa, defeating Ukraine 18-10. The key to the victory was a lightning-quick start, establishing an unassailable 5-0 lead in the first period. Red Star Belgrade’s young superstar, Jovana Radonjic, caught the eye, with her eight goals ultimately proving decisive.
Great Britain 21 – 3 Ireland (2-1, 7-0, 8-1, 4-1)
Ukraine 6 – 19 Turkiye (0-5, 2-6, 3-3, 1-5)
Serboa 18 – 10 Ukraine (5-0, 5-3, 6-3, 2-4)
Turkiye 9 – 5 Great Britain (4-3, 2-1, 3-0, 0-1)
Competition Schedule
Day 2 – 30th July
Group A
13:30 – Hungary vs Spain
21:00 – Italy vs Croatia
Group B
18:00 – Greece vs France
19:30 – Netherlands vs Israel
Group C
09:00 – Slovakia vs Romania
10:30 – Malta vs Switzerland
Group D
12:00 – Great Britain vs Serbia
21:00 – Ireland vs Turkey
Day 3 – 31st July
Group A
13:30 – Hungary vs Italy
21:00 – Spain vs Croatia
Group B
18:00 – Greece vs Netherlands
19:30 – France vs Israel
Group C
10:30 – Switzerland vs Romania
12:00 – Slovakia vs Malta
Group D
09:00 – Ukraine vs Great Britain
13:30 – Serbia vs Ireland
Day 4 – 1st August
Group A
18:00 – Hungary vs Croatia
19:30 – Italy vs Spain
Group B
13:30 – Netherlands vs France
16:30 – Greece vs Israel
Group C
09:00 – Slovakia vs Switzerland
12:00 – Malta vs Romania
Group D
09:00 – Ireland vs Ukraine
21:00 – Serbia vs Turkey
Previous Winners
2021 – 1. Russia, 2. Greece, 3. Hungary
2019 – 1. Spain, 2. Russia, 3. Italy
2017 – 1. Spain, 2. Netherlands, 3. Hungary
2015 – 1. Russia, 2. Spain, 3. Greece
2013 – 1. Greece, 2. Spain, 3. Netherlands
2011 – 1. Greece, 2. Hungary, 3. Spain
2010 – 1. Russia, 2. Spain, 3. Hungary
2008 – 1. Italy, 2. Hungary, 3. Russia
2006 – 1. Russia, 2. Netherlands, 3. Hungary
2004 – 1. Netherlands, 2. Greece, 3. Russia
2002 – 1. Greece, 2. Hungary, 3. Spain
2000 – 1. Russia 1998 – 1. Hungary
1996 – 1. Netherlands
1994 – 1. Netherlands
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