2024 Women's European Water Polo Championship facts for kids
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Netherlands |
| Dates | 5–13 January |
| Teams | 16 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Netherlands (6th title) |
| Runner-up |  Spain |
| Third place |  Greece |
| Fourth place |  Italy |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches | 48 |
| Goals scored | 1091 (22.73 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Rita Keszthelyi Alina-Ioana Olteanu Belen Vosseberg(21 goals each) |
| Best player | Beatriz Ortiz |
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The 2024 Women's European Water Polo Championship was a big water polo tournament. It was the 20th time this event was held. The games took place in Eindhoven, Netherlands, from January 5 to 13, 2024.
This championship was special because it was the first time 16 teams competed. Originally, it was planned for Netanya, Israel. However, due to security reasons, the location was changed to the Netherlands.
The Netherlands team won their sixth title! They beat Spain in the final game. Greece earned the bronze medal. This win also helped Greece qualify for the 2024 Olympics.
Contents
Where Was the Championship Held?
Choosing the Host City
The championship was first going to be in Tel Aviv, Israel. The dates were set for October 2023. Later, it was moved to Netanya, another city in Israel. The new dates were January 3 to 16, 2024. This change was made to help teams save money on travel. It also meant only one break in the water polo season.
However, because of security concerns, the European Aquatics Federation (LEN) decided on November 2 that Israel would not host the tournament.
After this, cities like Budapest (Hungary), Eindhoven (Netherlands), and Zagreb (Croatia) showed interest in hosting. On November 17, Eindhoven was chosen. Eindhoven had hosted this event before, in 2012.
The Competition Venue
All the games were played at the Pieter van den Hoogenband Zwemstadion in Eindhoven. This is the same pool used when Eindhoven hosted in 2012.
| Eindhoven | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pieter van den Hoogenband Zwemstadion | ||
| Capacity: 2,065 | ||
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How the Tournament Expanded
More Teams Join In
During the 2022 European Championships, there were talks about making the 2024 event bigger. On March 31, 2023, LEN officially announced that 16 teams would compete. They also changed how the tournament would be played.
New Tournament Format
This was the first time teams were put into two different Divisions. Their ranking from the last championship and qualifying games decided which division they were in.
- The top eight teams were in Division 1.
- The other eight teams were in Division 2.
Both divisions had two groups of four teams.
- The top two teams from each Division 1 group went straight to the quarterfinals.
- Other teams from Division 1 played against the top two teams from each Division 2 group in a special play-off round.
After these rounds, the tournament used a knockout system. This means if a team lost, they were out of the main competition.
Who Qualified?
Sixteen teams got to play in the main event. Here's how they qualified:
- The host nation (Israel, originally).
- The top seven teams from the 2022 European Championship (who weren't already qualified as the host).
- The final eight teams from the qualifying rounds.
All 12 teams that played in the 2022 event qualified again. Some teams made a comeback or a debut:
- Bulgaria played for the very first time.
- Czech Republic returned after not playing since 1997.
- Great Britain last qualified in 2014.
- Turkey returned after their last appearance in 2018.
| Event | Date | Location | Quotas | Nation(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host | 13 May 2022 | – | 1 |  Israel |
| 2022 European Championship | 29 August – 10 September |  Split |
7 | Spain Greece Italy Netherlands Hungary France Croatia |
| Qualifiers | 23–25 June 2023 | Various | 8 |  Slovakia Romania Serbia Great Britain Bulgaria Turkey Czech Republic Germany |
The Draw and Groups
The teams were put into groups in a draw held on September 12, 2023, in Netanya, Israel.
Division 1 Teams
The teams in Division 1 were placed into pots based on their rankings from the 2022 European Championship.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Division 2 Teams
The teams in Division 2 were seeded based on how they finished in the qualifying rounds.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
|---|---|
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Preliminary Round Games
The schedule for the games was announced on November 24, 2023. All game times were local to the Netherlands (UTC+1).
Division 1 Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
- Netherlands 24 – 6 Croatia
- Hungary 12 – 14 Greece
- Greece 25 – 8 Croatia
- Netherlands 14 – 11 Hungary
- Netherlands 15 – 10 Greece
- Hungary 17 – 2 Croatia
Division 1 Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
- Israel 11 – 20 Italy
- Spain 17 – 8 France
- Italy 12 – 6 France
- Spain 22 – 7 Israel
- Israel 8 – 16 France
- Spain 14 – 8 Italy
Division 2 Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
- Romania 12 – 13 Czech Republic
- Serbia 13 – 6 Turkey
- Turkey 9 – 10 Czech Republic
- Romania 4 – 15 Serbia
- Romania 9 – 7 Turkey
- Serbia 15 – 4 Czech Republic
Division 2 Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PSW | PSL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
- Slovakia 7 – 12 Great Britain
- Germany 29 – 9 Bulgaria
- Bulgaria 6 – 19 Great Britain
- Slovakia 10 – 12 Germany
- Slovakia 23 – 8 Bulgaria
- Germany 6 – 12 Great Britain
Knockout Stage: The Finals Begin!
Play-off Games
These games decided which teams from Division 1 (who didn't go straight to quarterfinals) and Division 2 would move on.
- Croatia 11 – 8 Serbia
- Israel 13 – 14 Great Britain (Great Britain won in a penalty shootout)
- France 14 – 6 Germany
- Hungary 27 – 4 Czech Republic
Quarterfinals
The winners of the play-offs joined the top teams from Division 1 in the quarterfinals.
- Spain 17 – 6 Croatia
- Netherlands 25 – 6 Great Britain
- Greece 15 – 7 France
- Italy 12 – 11 Hungary
Semifinals
The winners of the quarterfinals played in the semifinals.
- Spain 13 – 5 Greece
- Netherlands 7 – 6 Italy
Bronze Medal Game (Third Place)
The teams that lost in the semifinals played for the bronze medal.
- Greece 7 – 6 Italy
Gold Medal Game (Final)
The winners of the semifinals played for the championship title.
- Spain 7 – 8 Netherlands
Final Standings
Here's how the teams finished in the tournament:
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Greece qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics. They were the highest-ranked team that hadn't already qualified. Greece, France, and Great Britain also earned spots in the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.
Awards and Top Scorers
Top Goal Scorers
These players scored the most goals during the championship:
| Rank | Name | Goals | Shots | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rita Keszthelyi |
21 | 44 | 48 |
| Alina-Ioana Olteanu |
48 | 44 | ||
| Belen Vosseberg |
37 | 57 | ||
| 4 | Kübra Kuş |
20 | 46 | 43 |
| Ana Milićević |
39 | 51 | ||
| 6 | Maria Bogachenko |
16 | 35 | 46 |
| Toula Falvey |
28 | 57 | ||
| Krisztina Garda |
27 | 59 | ||
| Monika Sedlaková |
28 | 57 | ||
| 10 | Jelena Butić |
15 | 50 | 30 |
Special Awards
The best players were recognized on January 13, 2024.
| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| Best goalkeeper | Laura Aarts |
| Most Valuable Player | Beatriz Ortiz |
