The 2025–26 European Aquatics Euro Cup is the 34th edition of European Aquatics's secondary competition for men's water polo clubs, and the 15th edition since being rebranded from the Trophy to the Euro Cup. The season begins on 3 October 2025 and ended on 6 June 2026 with the Final.
This will be the third straight season under the new format, however, this season will witness a change in slot allocation, with only the third and fourth from domestic leagues being allowed to take part.
The winners of the European Aquatics Euro Cup automatically qualify for next season's Champions League and also qualify for the 2026 Super Cup.
Pro Recco are the defending champions, but can't defend their title after advancing to the quarter-finals round of the Champions League.
Format Qualification round 16 teams will participate in the qualification round in October 2025. The fourth place teams from national leagues ranked 1–10 plus the champions and runners-up of the national leagues ranked 11–12 (if they choose to enter) take part. The teams are divided into four separate groups, held in centralised venues. After round robin play, the group winners plus the three best runners-up progress to the group stage.
Group stage Sixteen teams will play in the group stage which is held between October 2025 to February 2026. The third place teams of national leagues ranked 1–10 can enter this round alongside the seven clubs who advanced from the qualification round. The participants are distributed into four groups of four. After home and away double round robin play, the top two from each group qualifies to the knockout stage.
Knockout stage The 8 teams left, plus the 8 teams that were eliminated at the Champions League group stage, go into the knockout stage. There will be an Eighth-finals, Quarter-finals, Semifinals and Final. Each tie is a home and away two legged affair where the aggregate winners advance.Competition regulations
Rankings The results were based on the results of the past four seasons.
Associations 1–10 can have two teams ranked 3rd and 4th qualify. Associations 11–12 can have two teams ranked 1st and 2nd qualify. Apart from the distribution based on the rankings, countries could have additional teams participating in the Euro Cup, as noted below: – Additional teams dropping down from the Champions League
RankAssociationPointsTeamsNotes1 Italy99,917.522 Hungary80,4653 Serbia71,5104 Spain69,187.55 Greece59,917.56 Croatia59,642.57 France41,19518 Germany24,812.529 Romania23,817.510 Montenegro18,647.5111 Georgia10,292.5212 Netherlands5,790113 Turkey5,722.5014 Portugal5,292.515 Switzerland4,245
RankAssociationPointsTeamsNotes16 Slovenia3,800017 Lithuania3,677.518 Slovakia3,55519 Great Britain2,28020 Belgium2,17021 Israel1,85022 Cyprus1,49023 Malta1,47224 Finland1,42025 Bosnia and Herzegovina1,19026 Russia1,087.527 Bulgaria37028 Poland317.529 Denmark280
Ranking facts Biggest riseTeam1 Cyprus2822 +62 Portugal1714 +3 Israel2421 Biggest fallTeam1 Russia1326 –132 Bosnia and Herzegovina2025 –53 Denmark2529 –4 New entriesNone Leaving entriesNone
Teams Starting this season, only the third and fourth teams from national leagues ranked 1–10 and champions and runners-up from national leagues ranked 11–12 are permitted to enter. Starting this season, champions from countries ranked below the top 12 are not permitted to enter.
Unlike last season, in the event that a club decides not to enter, the next best team is not allowed to take their place. Qualified teams The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round: CL: Champions League title holders EC: Euro Cup title holders 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,: League positions of the previous season CL: Transferred from the Champions League QR: Transferred from the Champions League qualification round GS: Transferred from the Champions League group stage
Entry roundTeamsKnockout stage Radnički Kragujevac (CL GS) Vasas SC (CL GS) Jadran m:tel Herceg Novi (CL GS) Jadran Split (CL GS) CSM Oradea (CL GS) Primorac Kotor (CL GS) KEIO CN Sabadell (CL GS) CN Marseille (CL GS) Group stage RN Savona (3rd) BVSC Manna ABC (3rd) CN Barcelona (3rd) VK Šabac Elixir (3rd) Panathinaikos AC (3rd) VK Jug AO (3rd) ASC Duisburg (3rd) PVK Budućnost Podgorica (3rd) CS Dinamo București (3rd) Qualification round Steaua București (CL QR) Pays d'Aix Natation (CL QR) Spandau 04 (CL QR) NC Vouliagmeni (CL QR) Pallanuoto Trieste (4th) Szolnoki Dozsa Praktiker (4th) CN Terrassa (4th) BVK Crvena zvezda (4th) GS Apollon Smyrnis (4th) VK Solaris (4th) Montpellier Water Polo (4th) OSC Potsdam (4th) CS Rapid București (4th) A-Polo Sport Management (1st) WPC Dinamo Tbilisi (2nd) ZV De Zaan (1st)
Name changes The following teams' names were changed during the season.
Round and draw dates Phase Round Draw date Round date Qualification round All rounds 28 July 2025 3–5 October 2025Main round Matchday 1 16 October 2025 Matchday 2 30 October 2025 Matchday 3 13 November 2025 Matchday 4 20 November 2025 Matchday 5 4 December 2025 Matchday 6 12 February 2026Eighth-finals First leg 16 February 2026 25 February 2026 Second leg 7 March 2026Quarter-finals First leg 18 March 2026 Second leg 28 March 2026Semi-finals First leg 25 April 2026 Second leg 9 May 2026Finals First leg 23 May 2026 Second leg 6 June 2026
Qualification round
The group winners and three best runners-up qualify for the group stage, while everyone else drops down to the Conference Cup qualifiers, bar the teams that took part in Champions League qualification. The draw was on 28 July 2025 in Zagreb, Croatia. The seeding is based on the club rankings.
Group A 3–5 October 2025, Athens, Greece
Group B 3–5 October 2025, Montpellier, France
Group C 3–5 October 2025, Šibenik, Croatia
Group D 3–5 October 2025, Terrassa, Spain
Ranking of second-placed teams
Group stage
The draw took place on the 28 July 2025 in Zagreb, Croatia.
The top 2 from every group advances to the Eighth-finals.
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 2 points for a penalty shootout win, 1 point for a penalty shootout loss, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in all group matches; Goals scored in all group matches.
Nine countries are being represented, with Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Spain all having the most clubs with two each. CN Terrassa, CS Dinamo București and PVK Budućnost Podgorica are making their debut.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Knockout stage
Eighth-finals
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
2025–26 European Aquatics Euro Cup Champions CN MarseilleSecond title
Notes
See also 2025–26 European Aquatics Champions League 2025–26 European Aquatics Conference Cup 2025–26 European Aquatics Challenger Cup 2025 European Aquatics Super Cup 2025–26 European Aquatics Women's Champions League 2025–26 European Aquatics Women's Euro Cup 2025–26 European Aquatics Women's Conference Cup 2025–26 European Aquatics Women's Challenger Cup 2025 European Aquatics Women's Super Cup
References
External links
Official website Official statistics of the tournament