LAUSANNE – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Aquatics have finalised the Olympic qualification principles for the men's and women's water polo tournaments at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

With just under 800 days remaining until the Games open, the two organisations have confirmed the LA28 Olympic Qualification System Principles for water polo following extensive collaboration among the IOC Sports Department, the World Aquatics Bureau, the World Aquatics Water Polo Technical Committee, and major aquatics stakeholders. This approval follows the earlier publication of qualification system documents for swimming, diving, artistic swimming, and open water swimming.

In a historic first, the Women's Water Polo Tournament at LA28 will feature 12 teams — matching the men's 12-team field and marking the first time Olympic water polo has achieved full gender parity.

Qualification Pathway

Image Source: The Netherlands and Team USA in play at the 2026 Women's Water Polo World Cup Division 1 tournament in Rotterdam (Aniko Kovacs / World Aquatics)

The 12 qualification places for each tournament will be distributed as follows:

  • As host nation, the United States of America automatically qualifies for both tournaments.
  • The highest-placed National Olympic Committee (NOC) at the World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup 2027 Final will qualify for LA28.
  • The top two NOCs at the World Aquatics Championships – Budapest 2027 will qualify for LA28.
  • The highest-placed NOC at each of the five Continental Championships will qualify for LA28.
  • The top three NOCs at the World Aquatics World Qualifier 2028 will qualify for LA28.

World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam welcomed the collaborative effort undertaken to establish a fair and attainable pathway to the LA28 Olympic Games.

"Finalising the Qualification System for water polo is another milestone on the road to LA28. With an expanded number of nations competing in water polo, we have realised several guiding pillars of sports: increasing opportunities for athletes and championing equal opportunity, while also creating a clear and fair qualification pathway for all athletes. This work required careful consideration and collaboration with the IOC and the global aquatics community, and I am proud of what we have achieved."

Image Source: Nikola Jaksic of Serbia fires a shot in the Men's Quarterfinal Match against Greece at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Serbian men's national team captain Nikola Jaksic, representing the triple reigning Olympic champions, said: "It is an honour for athletes to see such commitment to fairness and equality in our sport. Expanding the number of teams creates more opportunities and new challenges, and I know every player dreams of earning their place on this stage. We are excited to defend our title at LA28 and to face the best competition from around the world."

Image Source: Bea Ortiz of Spain shoots in the Women's Quarterfinal Match against Canada and Team Spain on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena on August 06, 2024 in Nanterre, France. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Spanish captain Bea Ortiz, part of the defending women's water polo Olympic championship team, added: "The increase to twelve teams in the women's tournament shows how far our sport has come. It motivates us to work even harder and inspires young players in Spain and around the world. LA28 will be a special milestone for women's water polo. We are proud to be part of this moment."

Water Polo at the LA28 Olympic Games

Image Source: American rapper Flavor Flav shows his support during the Olympics Women's Preliminary Round between Team USA and Team Italy at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Water polo will be held at the Long Beach Aquatics Center for both the men's and women's tournaments. Preliminary rounds are scheduled to begin ahead of the Games' official opening on 14 July 2028, with the men's competition running from 12 to 22 July and the women's from 13 to 23 July.

The session calendar for all sports was developed in collaboration with LA28 organisers and the IOC and was released in November 2025.

A Record Aquatics Programme at LA28

Image Source: Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre perform at the LA28 Olympic Games Handover Celebration (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for LA28)

The LA28 Olympic Games, scheduled from 14 to 30 July 2028, will feature the most extensive sports programme in Olympic history, comprising 36 sports and 351 medal events — an increase from the 32 sports and 329 medal events at Paris 2024.

World Aquatics will govern 55 medal events across swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming, and open water swimming at LA28, the largest share of any international federation at the Games and up from 49 aquatic medal events at Paris 2024.

Los Angeles previously hosted the Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984.

About Water Polo

Image Source: Preliminary round water polo play in the pool at Tourelles during the Paris 1924 Olympics (Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Water polo debuted as the first Olympic team sport at the Paris 1900 Games. The game features teams of seven players who aim to score by throwing a ball into the opponent's net while swimming and treading water. Each team has 28 seconds per possession and may use only one hand to handle the ball. Played over four eight-minute quarters, the sport is fast-paced and highly physically demanding.