The 2024–25

European Aquatics Champions League The European Aquatics Champions League is the top-tier European professional water polo club competition with teams from up to 18 countries. It is organized by the Ligue Européenne de Natation. The competition started in 1963 as European Cup. A ...

is the 62nd edition of the newly renamed European Aquatics's premier competition for men's

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

clubs. FTC-Telekom are the defending champions. FTC-Telekom won their third title with a win over

Novi Beograd New Belgrade (, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade. It was a Planned community, planned city and now is the central business district of Serbia and South East Europe. Construction began in 1948 in a previously un ...

in the final.

Format

After one qualification round, sixteen teams will qualify for the group stage. Four groups of four will be played., with the top two in each group will make the quarter-finals round (also a group stage). The team that finish third and fourth will compete in the 2024–25 European Aquatics Euro Cup knockout stage. The remaining eight teams in the quarter-finals round will play a further six matches, with the top two in each group making the Final Four.

Rankings

The top 11 best ranked countries in the new rankings are allowed to have their national champion go directly into the main round, as long as they meet requirements.

Teams

Alongside the 11 domestic champions, the defending champions also get a spot in the main round. In the event that the Champions League defending champions won their national league, the runners-up of the national league will take the vacant spot. In this season, as FTC-Telekom are the reigning champions, Hungary's spot was given to the Hungarian runners-up, A-Híd Vasas Plaket. After the abrupt withdrawal of the Italian champions,

Pro Recco A.S.D. Pro Recco (Official name: Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Pro Recco) is an Italian professional water polo club from Recco, in Liguria. It currently plays in Serie A1. Pro Recco is the most successful club in men's water polo. In m ...

, due to financial reasons,

RN Savona Rari Nantes Savona is an aquatic sports club based in Savona, Italy, mainly known for its professional men's water polo team, which competes uninterruptedly in the Serie A1, the top division of Italian championship, since 1982; the team has been ...

, who placed second, takes their place in the Main round. Also, despite finishing fourth,

CC Ortigia Circolo Canottieri Ortigia, also known as Ortigia Siracusa, is an Italian professional water polo club from Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syrac ...

took Italy's third spot in the tournament. Croatia also saw a team withdrawing with Primorje EB Rijeka, who placed third, giving up their spot. The replacement was HAVK Mladost Zagreb, who finished fourth.

Round and draw dates

Schedule

Qualification round

The group winners qualify for the main round, while everyone else drops down to the

Euro Cup The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

qualifiers.

Draw

The draw was on 13 August 2024 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, Croatia. H indicates which clubs is hosting a group. Teams in bold advanced to the

main round Main may refer to: Geography *Main River (disambiguation), multiple rivers with the same name *Ma'in, an ancient kingdom in modern-day Yemen * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *Spanish Main, the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territ ...

Group A

12–15 September 2024,

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Group B

13–15 September 2024,

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Se ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Group C

12–15 September 2024,

Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Group D

13–15 September 2024,

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city and municipality in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, where it is one of the two capitals, the other being Terrassa. It is located on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona, a ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Main round

The top two from each group make the quarter-finals round. The bottom two from each group drops down to the Euro Cup 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. This season, 11 of the 16 clubs from last season are present.

return to the Champions League for the first time in 18 years. For the first time since

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, Primorac Kotor will participate. After 13 years away, A-Híd Vasas Plaket qualified. Waspo'98 Hannover comes back after a one season absence. Of the teams who progressed from qualification, Radnički Kragujevac and

CSM Oradea CSM Oradea is a Romanian sports society from Oradea, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to t ...

return after being absent for

three 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

and eleven years respectively. For the first time ever, Romania will be represented by two clubs in the group stage, while Montenegro will boast two clubs in the group stage for the first time since 2011–12. Overall, a total of 11 countries are present in the group stage.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Quarter-finals round

The four group winners and four group runners-up were drawn into two groups, with each one containing two group winners and two group runners-up. The top two teams in each group advanced to the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

Draw

The draw took place in

on 11 December. The seeded and unseeded clubs consist of the teams that finished first and second in the previous round respectively. The only restriction was that clubs from the same group in the Main round could not be drawn against each other. 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.

Group A

Group B

Final Four

The Final Four tournament will be held from 31 May to 1 June 2025 at the National Pool Complex in

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Bracket

Third place match

Final

Awards

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:2024-25 LEN Champions League LEN Champions League seasons 2024–25 in LEN water polo 2024 in men's water polo 2025 in men's water polo

LEN Champions League The European Aquatics Champions League is the top-tier European professional water polo club competition with teams from up to 18 countries. It is organized by the Ligue Européenne de Natation. The competition started in 1963 as European Cup. A ...

Format

Rankings

Teams

Round and draw dates

Schedule

Qualification round

Draw

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Main round

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Quarter-finals round

Draw

Group A

Group B

Final Four

Bracket

Third place match

Final

Awards

See also

References

External links