Team Malta is poised for its sixth successive appearance at the European Aquatics Water Polo Championships, a historic feat for the nation’s water polo. The 37th edition of the tournament, which celebrates the competition’s 100th anniversary, will be held at the large Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, from January 10-25, 2026.

Malta has been drawn into a challenging Group A alongside three strong opponents for the preliminary round: Montenegro, France, and the continental powerhouse, Hungary.

A Formidable Group Stage Challenge

Malta secured their spot in the final tournament after successfully navigating a qualification group that included Portugal and Ukraine. However, the group stage in Belgrade presents a significant step up in competition. Hungary is a historic powerhouse in the sport, while Montenegro consistently ranks among Europe’s top teams. France is also an emerging force in European water polo.

Under Head Coach Milan Ćirović and assistant Jonathan Valletta, the 16-man Maltese squad departed on January 5 for a final preparatory training camp in Maribor, Slovenia, where they are sparring with the Slovenian national team before heading to Serbia.

Group A Fixtures (All times CET):

Malta will play all three of their initial group matches within a five-day window:

New Tournament Format

This edition introduces a new two-stage group format to enhance fairness and increase the number of meaningful matches. After the first stage, the top three teams from Group A will merge with the top three from Group C (which features the Netherlands, Israel, Serbia, and Spain) to form a new Group E in the second stage. Points from the initial group stage are carried over, making every match crucial.

The team, proudly sponsored by entities including BOV Bank of Valletta, SportMalta, and Meridianbet, aims to build on their previous best result of 14th place achieved in 2022.