FINA determined the new dates of the Olympic Water Polo Qualification tournaments.
According to the latest information published on FINA’s website, the men’s qualification tournament is postponed to February (14-21).
Until today afternoon, on the tournament’s page at FINA’s website, it was written that the tournament will be held in December (13-20). Early in the afternoon, Total Waterpolo published that information (we cited that the source was FINA’s website). But, later, FINA’s website was updated with new information. February 14-21, 2021 were confirmed as new dates
FINA tournament’s webpage this morning (click to enlarge)
FINA tournament’s webpage this evening (click to enlarge)
If nothing changes, the ladies will battle for the Olympic visas in January (17 – 24). Last year, Rotterdam was chosen as a host of the men’s tournament, while it’s planned that ladies battle in Trieste.
Both tournaments were originally scheduled for March this year.
Teams that qualified and confirmed coming to the men’s tournament are Greece, Montenegro, Brazil, Canada, Georgia, Turkey (Group A), Croatia, Germany, Russia, Romania, Netherlands, France (Group B). After the group stage, the top four teams from each of the groups will advance to the quarterfinals. The top three teams will qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The groups of the women’s qualifications – A: The Netherlands, France, Italy, Uzbekistan, Slovakia. Group B: Greece, Hungary, Israel, New Zealand, Kazakhstan. The teams ranked 1st-4th in their respective groups will play in the quarterfinals, but only the best two teams (the finalists of the tournament) will earn the Olympic berths.
(Edited June 2, at 22:10 PM)
First match after break on June 13
The water polo activities all around Europe are restarting step-by-step. Many clubs and national teams have gathered and started to train.
The first games could be played very soon.
The Croatian Water Polo Federation plans to stage a friendly match Croatia – Montenegro in Dubrovnik on June 13. The Montenegrins were invited. Their Federation still hasn’t officially confirmed that the team will come to Dubrovnik, but the Croats believe that answer will be positive. The Croatian national team will start preparations on June 10. Montenegro has been training since May 11.
That would be the first international water polo match in Europe after more than 3 months of break.
The last international water polo games before the suspension of the competitions were played at the friendly tournament “Four Nations” in Hamburg (March 9-11). Montenegro won 1st place, ahead of Germany, Georgia, and Romania. The last official match was an encounter between Serbia and Spain in the quarterfinals of the European qualifications for the World League on March 10. Spain defeated Serbia 13:11 in Belgrade and advanced to the semifinals.
The World League will probably be continued after the Olympic qualifications with the remaining three matches of the European quarterfinals: Italy – Hungary, France – Greece and Montenegro – Croatia. The Intercontinental qualifications will be held in Indianapolis, USA (both for men and for women). The dates of the International Cup in Indianapolis haven’t been determined.
