Excitement is building in Montenegro as World Aquatics announces that the coastal cities of Budva and Kotor will host the Men’s Water Polo World Cup 2025 Final.
LAUSANNE – The top eight men’s national water polo teams will play for the World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup 2025 crown in the Montenegrin coastal cities of Budva and Kotor, from 11-13 April.
With the host confirmed, defending champion Spain now knows the waters it must navigate to retain its 2023 global title. However, the battle for the eight coveted spots to the World Cup Final are still underway.
In December 2024, two teams secured their places in the 2025 Water Polo World Cup Final with the Netherlands and Germany finishing first and second in the Division 2 tournament in Istanbul, Turkiye.
The competition for the final six spots in the Water Polo World Cup Final is currently underway in Bucharest, Romania at the Men’s Water Polo World Cup 2025 Division 1 tournament . Eleven teams—Croatia, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Japan, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Spain, and the United States—are each vying for a spot.
The Men’s Division 1 tournament began on 7 January and concludes this Sunday, 12 January, in Bucharest.
While this event marks Kotor’s first time holding a World Aquatics event, Montenegro has a strong reputation in international water polo, having recently hosted the 2022 World Aquatics European Men’s Water Polo Preliminaries, 2016 World Aquatics Men’s U18 Water Polo Championships and the 2009 edition of the World Aquatics Men’s Water Polo World Cup Final.
World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup Tournament History
Formerly known as the FINA Water Polo World League, national teams' annual international water polo tournament began in 2002 for men and 2004 for women.
Serbia leads the all-time nations list with 10 titles, the last of which came in 2019 during a home final in Belgrade. Spain is the aforementioned defending champion, while Montenegro won the tournament in 2020. Due to the global pandemic, no Water Polo World Cup season was played in 2021.
In the women’s tournament, the United States won the event’s first edition in Long Beach (USA) in 2004 and heads into the 2025 Water Polo World Cup season as the four-time defending champion after earning the 2023 global crown again in Long Beach. The American women will be going for their record-extending 16th Women’s Water Polo World Cup gold this season. Four other teams have won the women’s tournament: Greece (2005), Russia (2008), China (2013), and Spain (2022). The Women’s Water Polo World Cup 2025 – Final host will be announced soon.