The water polo tournaments for both men and women will take place in the Aquatics Centre for the Preliminaries Phase, which will run from 27 July – 4 August. For the Finals Phase of water polo, matches will be played in the Paris Défense Arena from 5-11 August.

The 6,000-capacity Aquatics Centre is the only permanent sports facility that was built for the Paris 2024 Olympics and will also welcome the artistic swimming and diving events. The 17,000-capacity Paris La Défense Arena is a sports and cultural event space that will also hold the swimming competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Men Water Polo Qualification | Paris 2024 Olympics

The Men’s Water Polo Tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics will feature 12 countries and 144 water polo players.

Here are the 12 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) that earned qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics Men’s Water Polo Tournament:

Line One | Hungary and Greece

Hungary and Greece qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics by being the first and second-placed countries from the World Aquatics Championships – Fukuoka 2023. One country will be drawn into Group A and one country into Group B.

Line Two | Croatia and Spain

Croatia qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics by being the highest-ranked, not-yet-qualified country from the World Aquatics Championships – Doha 2024. Spain qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics through the continental qualification position of Europe. One country will be drawn into Group A and one country into Group B.

Line Three | Australia and the United States

Australia and the United States qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics through the continental qualification positions for the continents of Oceania and America, respectively. One country will be drawn into Group A and one country into Group B.

Line Four | Japan and Romania

Japan qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics through the continental qualification position for Asia. As the highest-ranked country from the continent of Africa did not take their NOC quota position, Romania – the next-highest-ranked country from the World Aquatics Championships - Doha 2024 not-yet-qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics – earned this quota position (F.1). One country will be drawn into Group A and one country into Group B.

Line Five | Italy and Serbia

Italy and Serbia qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics through the World Aquatics Championships – Doha 2024 Men’s Water Polo Tournament by being the second- and third-highest-ranked, not-yet-qualified countries. One country will be drawn into Group A and one country into Group B.

Line Six

Montenegro qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics through the World Aquatics Championships – Doha 2024 Men’s Water Polo Tournament by being the fourth-highest-ranked, not-yet-qualified country. France obtained the automatic quota place for the Paris 2024 Olympics as the host country. One country will be drawn into Group A and one country into Group B.

Women Water Polo Qualification | Paris 2024 Olympics

The Women’s Water Polo Tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics will feature 10 countries and 120 water polo players.

Here are the 10 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) that earned qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics Men’s Water Polo Tournament:

Line One | Netherlands and Spain

The Netherlands and Spain qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics by being the first and second-placed teams from the World Aquatics Championships – Fukuoka 2023. One country will be drawn into Group A and one country into Group B.

Line Two | Australia and Greece

Australia and Greece qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics through the continental qualification positions for the continents of Oceania and Europe, respectively. One country will be drawn into Group A and one country into Group B.

Line Three | Hungary and Italy

Hungary and Italy qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics by being the first and second highest-ranked, not-yet-qualified countries in the Women’s Water Polo Tournament at the World Aquatics Championships – Doha 2024. One country will be drawn into Group A and one country into Group B.

Line Four | People’s Republic of China and the United States

The People’s Republic of China and the United States qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics through the continental qualification positions for the continents of Asia and America, respectively. One country will be drawn into Group A and one country into Group B.

Line Five | Canada and France

As the highest-ranked country from the continent of Africa did not take their NOC quota position, Canada – the next highest-ranked country from the World Aquatics Championships - Doha 2024 that had not yet qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics – earned this quota position (F.1).

France obtained the automatic quota place for the Paris 2024 Olympics as the host country. One country will be drawn into Group A and one country into Group B.

Olympic History of Water Polo

Water polo is one of the oldest team sports in the modern-era Olympic Games programme. Water polo made its debut at the Paris 1900 Olympics alongside another team sport: rugby. The first two water polo tournaments at the Olympic Games were played between clubs. From 1908 onwards, the Olympic water polo tournament has been between countries. At the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the women’s water polo tournament was added to the Olympic Games programme.    

About the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Pathway for Water Polo

World Aquatics worked closely with the IOC Sports Department and the leadership of the World Aquatics Water Polo Technical Committee, and also consulted with its National Member Federations, to develop qualification principles for the water polo events at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Aquatics Olympics Qualification Principles for the Paris 2024 Games were published on 18 June 2022. For these principles, please refer to the following link: Aquatics Olympic Qualification System Principles.