FINA confirmed the dates of the Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament, which will be held in Trieste in the second half of January.
Two teams – Uzbekistan and New Zealand – withdrew from the tournament, so only eight teams will participate. Therefore, the qualifications will be shorter and will begin two days later than was initially planned. The qualifications will start on January 19, and they will be finished on January 24.
Uzbekistan was drawn into Group A, while New Zealand was supposed to play in Group B.
The new composition of the groups
Group A: Netherlands, France, Italy, Slovakia.
Group B: Greece, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan
The group stage will be played from January 19 to 21. The knockout stage is from January 22 to 24.
All teams will advance to the quarterfinals, but only the best two teams (the finalists of the tournament) will earn the Olympic berths.
The USA, Spain, Russia, Australia, Canada, South Africa, China, and Japan are already qualified for the Olympic Games.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the stay of the teams in Trieste is limited. Teams may arrive on January 16 or later, not before, and they have to depart from the city a day after the tournament (January 25).
