LEN moved tournament from Israel due to ongoing conflict
European Aquatics have announced that the men’s European Championship finals will be hosted by Croatia while the women’s tournament will be played in the Dutch city of Eindhoven.
The continental championships were originally planned to be held in Netanya in Israel between January 3 and 16 but the European governing body announced earlier this month that both the men’s and women’s tournaments will not be held in the Israeli city due to ongoing conflict in the region.
Several cities were touted to being lined up as a replacement and European Aquatics announced on Friday that the tournaments will now be held in Croatia and the Netherlands.
Malta are set to compete for a fifth successive time in the continental finals and were drawn to face Israel, Germany, and Serbia.
“European Aquatics is pleased to confirm that an agreement was found with the Croatian Water Polo Federation and the Royal Dutch Swimming Federation to co-host the 2024 European Water Polo Championships at the beginning of January 2024,” the governing body said in a statement.
“The Men’s tournament will take place in Dubrovnik and Zagreb from January 4 and 16 and the Women’s tournament in Eindhoven from January 5 and 13.
“This decision will allow a qualification path for the World Championships in Doha, as well as the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.”
On his part, European Aquatics president Antonio Silva said: “We were forced to postpone the European Championship in Netanya because of the terrorist outrages against the Israeli people. In the interest of the athletes, I am glad that we have been able to secure two great hosts and would like to thank our federations in Croatia and the Netherlands for doing everything possible to make these championships happen.
“By working together, we will organise these events in an optimal way.”
