2024–25 European Aquatics Challenger Cup

European Aquatics Challenger Cup
2024–25
Tournament information
SportWater polo
DatesQualification round:
1–3 November 2024
Knockout stage:
18 January–26 April 2025
TeamsTotal: 16 (from 12 countries)
WebsiteOfficial website
Final positions
Champions GZC Donk (1st title)
Runner-up EVK Zaibas
Tournament statistics
Matches played38
Goals scored936 (24.63 per match)

The 2024–25 European Aquatics Challenger Cup was the 3rd edition of a water polo competition organised by European Aquatics. It acts as the third tier, below the LEN Champions League and the LEN Euro Cup. The reigning champions are Galatasaray, but they won't defend their title as they didn't enter.

This is the last season where the Challenger Cup is the third tier tournament in European water polo, with the Conference Cup taking its place.

Dutch side, GZC Donk, won their first title after defeating Lithuanian team, EVK Zaibas, in the final.[1]

Format

16 teams are grouped into 4 pools of four clubs. The top 2 from every pool advances to the quarter-finals, followed by semi-finals and finals.[2]

Rankings

Only teams below the top 12 can enter this competition.

Teams

No countries ranked in the top 12 of the LEN men's club rankings can take part in this tournament.[4]

Participating teams
Royal Dauphins Mouscronnois APOEL Nicosia Limassol NC Cetus Espoo
Welsh Wanderers ASA Tel Aviv Hapoel Palram Zvulun EVK Zaibas
Sliema ASC GZC Donk ZV De Zaan Vitória Sport Clube
Clube Fluvial Portuense KVP Novaky AVK Slovan Olimpija Carouge Natation

Schedule

Rounds and dates

Phase Round Round date
Qualification round 1–3 November 2024
Quarter-finals First leg 18 January 2025
Second leg 1 February 2025
Semi-finals First leg 22 February 2025
Second leg 8 March 2025
Final First leg 12 April 2025
Second leg 26 April 2025

Qualification round

In the qualification round, teams play in a round robin format. The top 2 in each group advance. Due to the lack of clubs wanting the host the groups, Nováky and Sliema hosted two groups.[5][6]

Draw

The draw was on 16 September 2024.[7] H indicates which club is hosting the groups. Teams in bold advanced to the quarter-finals. The seeding was decided by as follows:

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4

Carouge Natation
EVK Zaibas
KVP Novaky (H)
Vitória Sport Clube

Royal Dauphins Mouscronnois
ZV De Zaan
ASA Tel Aviv
Cetus Espoo

Clube Fluvial Portuense
APOEL Nicosia
GZC Donk
AVK Slovan Olimpija

Welsh Wanderers
Sliema ASC (H)
Hapoel Palram Zvulun
Limassol NC

Group A

Held in Sliema, Malta

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification DON VIT CET WEL
1 GZC Donk 3 3 0 0 0 58 31 +27 9 Quarterfinals 15–12
2 Vitória Sport Clube 3 2 0 0 1 50 31 +19 6 13–10 25–6
3 Cetus Espoo 3 1 0 0 2 43 41 +2 3 8–17 25–11
4 Welsh Wanderers 3 0 0 0 3 28 76 −48 0 11–26
1 November 2024
16:00
Report Cetus Espoo 25–11 Welsh Wanderers National Pool, Sliema
Referees:
Riccardo Carmignani (ITA), Povilas Sriubas (LTU)
Score by quarters: 6–2, 8–2, 5–4, 6–3
Porobic 6 Goals three players 2
1 November 2024
17:15
Report GZC Donk 15–12 Vitória Sport Clube National Pool, Sliema
Referees:
Erkan Turkkan (TUR), Neville Mercieca (MLT)
Score by quarters: 3–1, 3–4, 6–4, 3–3
Veenhuis 4 Goals Ramos 5

2 November 2024
16:00
Report Vitória Sport Clube 13–10 Cetus Espoo National Pool, Sliema
Referees:
Riccardo Carmignani (ITA), Erkan Turkkan (TUR)
Score by quarters: 1–3, 2–2, 4–1, 6–4
Ramos 6 Goals Porobic 3
2 November 2024
17:15
Report Welsh Wanderers 11–26 GZC Donk National Pool, Sliema
Referees:
Neville Mercieca (MLT), Povilas Sriubas (LTU)
Score by quarters: 5–5, 1–5, 2–8, 3–8
Laxton 6 Goals Van Ijperen 6

3 November 2024
08:30
Report Cetus Espoo 8–17 GZC Donk National Pool, Sliema
Referees:
Riccardo Carmignani (ITA), Povilas Sriubas (LTU)
Score by quarters: 2–4, 4–3, 0–5, 2–5
Porobic, Vavic 2 Goals Veenhuis, Winkelhorst 5
3 November 2024
09:45
Report Vitória Sport Clube 25–6 Welsh Wanderers National Pool, Sliema
Referees:
Erkan Turkkan (TUR), Neville Mercieca (MLT)
Score by quarters: 8–1, 7–2, 3–3, 7–0
Ferreira Sousa 6 Goals Laxton 4

Group B

Held in Novaky, Slovakia

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ZAAN ZAI HAP APO
1 ZV De Zaan 3 3 0 0 0 42 21 +21 9 Quarterfinals 8–7 21–2
2 EVK Zaibas 3 2 0 0 1 42 30 +12 6 12–13 12–10 18–7
3 Hapoel Palram Zvulun 3 1 0 0 2 31 31 0 3 14–11
4 APOEL Nicosia 3 0 0 0 3 20 53 −33 0
1 November 2024
15:30
Report ZV De Zaan 8–7 Hapoel Palram Zvulun National Water Polo Centre, Nováky
Referees:
Robert Prelovsky (SVK), Roberto Guarnieri (BEL)
Score by quarters: 1–1, 2–1, 4–3, 1–2
Bakker 3 Goals Begin 3
1 November 2024
17:15
Report EVK Zaibas 18–7 APOEL Nicosia National Water Polo Centre, Nováky
Referees:
Branimir Butigan (BIH), Koppany Toth (HUN)
Score by quarters: 5–0, 4–2, 4–1, 5–4
Gostautas 5 Goals Konstantopoulos 3

2 November 2024
19:00
Report EVK Zaibas 12–13 ZV De Zaan National Water Polo Centre, Nováky
Referees:
Roberto Guarnieri (BEL), Branimir Butigan (BIH)
Score by quarters: 2–3, 4–5, 2–2, 4–3
Jelaca 3 Goals Rempt 3
2 November 2024
20:45
Report Hapoel Palram Zvulun 14–11 APOEL Nicosia National Water Polo Centre, Nováky
Referees:
Robert Prelovsky (SVK), Koppany Toth (HUN)
Score by quarters: 5–1, 3–3, 4–2, 2–5
Goldschmidt 4 Goals three players 2

3 November 2024
09:00
Report ZV De Zaan 21–2 APOEL Nicosia National Water Polo Centre, Nováky
Referees:
Koppany Toth (HUN), Roberto Guarnieri (BEL)
Score by quarters: 7–0, 4–1, 5–0, 5–1
Van Den Dobbelsteen 6 Goals Economides, Robu 1
3 November 2024
10:45
Report EVK Zaibas 12–10 Hapoel Palram Zvulun National Water Polo Centre, Nováky
Referees:
Branimir Butigan (BIH), Robert Prelovsky (SVK)
Score by quarters: 2–2, 4–4, 4–1, 2–3
Jelaca 3 Goals Begin, Carmon 3

Group C

Held in Sliema, Malta

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SLI FLU CAR ASA
1 Sliema ASC (H) 3 3 0 0 0 44 20 +24 9 Quarterfinals 15–7 16–5 13–8
2 Clube Fluvial Portuense 3 2 0 0 1 33 32 +1 6 14–8
3 Carouge Natation 3 1 0 0 2 32 35 −3 3 9–12
4 ASA Tel Aviv 3 0 0 0 3 23 45 −22 0 7–18
Source: European Aquatics
(H) Host
1 November 2024
18:30
Report Carouge Natation 9–12 Clube Fluvial Portuense National Pool, Sliema
Referees:
Robert Horvath (SVK), Maxim Gerasimov (GBR)
Score by quarters: 2–1, 2–3, 2–2, 3–6
Gros 3 Goals five players 2
1 November 2024
19:45
Report Sliema ASC 13–8 ASA Tel Aviv National Pool, Sliema
Referees:
Polydoros Filippou (CYP), Rok Vehovec (SLO)
Score by quarters: 5–0, 2–3, 2–3, 4–2
five players 2 Goals three players 2

2 November 2024
18:30
Report ASA Tel Aviv 7–18 Carouge Natation National Pool, Sliema
Referees:
Maxim Gerasimov (GBR), Polydoros Filippou (CYP)
Score by quarters: 2–4, 2–4, 1–4, 2–6
Kolodny, Souva 2 Goals Roscio 6
2 November 2024
19:45
Report Sliema ASC 15–7 Clube Fluvial Portuense National Pool, Sliema
Referees:
Rok Vehovec (SLO), Robert Horvath (SVK)
Score by quarters: 3–1, 5–3, 1–0, 6–3
Zammit 4 Goals Ornelas Pinto, Parati 2

3 November 2024
11:15
Report Clube Fluvial Portuense 14–8 ASA Tel Aviv National Pool, Sliema
Referees:
Maxim Gerasimov (GBR), Rok Vehovec (SLO)
Score by quarters: 2–2, 5–0, 5–3, 2–3
Parati 4 Goals Gal-on, Zonanstern 2
3 November 2024
12:30
Report Sliema ASC 16–5 Carouge Natation National Pool, Sliema
Referees:
Robert Horvath (SVK), Polydoros Filippou (CYP)
Score by quarters: 5–2, 2–2, 4–1, 5–0
Zammit 5 Goals Gros, Melet 2

Group D

Held in Novaky, Slovakia

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification NOV SLO MOU LIM
1 KVP Novaky (H) 3 3 0 0 0 51 33 +18 9 Quarterfinals 14–10 18–12 19–11
2 AVK Slovan Olimpija 3 2 0 0 1 36 33 +3 6 14–12 12–7
3 Royal Dauphins Mouscronnois 3 1 0 0 2 43 42 +1 3
4 Limassol NC 3 0 0 0 3 28 50 −22 0 10–19
Source: European Aquatics
(H) Host
1 November 2024
19:00
Report KVP Novaky 19–11 Limassol NC National Water Polo Centre, Nováky
Referees:
Luis Alves (POR), Tal Shildan (ISR)
Score by quarters: 5–1, 2–3, 7–4, 5–3
three players 4 Goals Chalaris 5
1 November 2024
20:45
Report AVK Slovan Olimpija 14–12 Royal Dauphins Mouscronnois National Water Polo Centre, Nováky
Referees:
Massimo Castrilli (SUI), Jarkko Virtanen (FIN)
Score by quarters: 4–3, 3–2, 4–4, 3–3
Potocnik 7 Goals Mikael 5

2 November 2024
15:30
Report AVK Slovan Olimpija 12–7 Limassol NC National Water Polo Centre, Nováky
Referees:
Tal Shildan (ISR), Jarkko Virtanen (FIN)
Score by quarters: 2–3, 3–0, 4–1, 3–3
Canc 4 Goals Monioudis 3
2 November 2024
17:15
Report KVP Novaky 18–12 Royal Dauphins Mouscronnois National Water Polo Centre, Nováky
Referees:
Massimo Castrilli (SUI), Luis Alves (POR)
Score by quarters: 5–2, 4–4, 4–3, 5–3
Dittmer, Tisaj 4 Goals Mikael 4

3 November 2024
12:30
Report Limassol NC 10–19 Royal Dauphins Mouscronnois National Water Polo Centre, Nováky
Referees:
Tal Shildan (ISR), Jarkko Virtanen (FIN)
Score by quarters: 5–4, 1–6, 2–5, 2–4
Ioannou, Trusico 2 Goals Grman 5
3 November 2024
14:15
Report KVP Novaky 14–10 AVK Slovan Olimpija National Water Polo Centre, Nováky
Referees:
Luis Alves (POR), Massimo Castrilli (SUI)
Score by quarters: 5–3, 2–1, 4–2, 3–4
Tisaj 7 Goals Potocnik 3

Knockout stage

Draw

The draw was on 11 November 2024. 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 previous round could not be drawn against each other.

Seeded Unseeded

GZC Donk
ZV De Zaan
Sliema ASC
KVP Novaky

Vitória Sport Clube
EVK Zaibas
Clube Fluvial Portuense
AVK Slovan Olimpija

Bracket

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
            
ZV De Zaan 23 13 36
Vitória Sport Clube 11 4 15
ZV De Zaan 9 11 20
EVK Zaibas 9 13 22
KVP Novaky 8 14 22
EVK Zaibas 16 8 24
EVK Zaibas 13 9 22
GZC Donk 11 12 23
GZC Donk 20 18 38
Clube Fluvial Portuense 12 13 25
GZC Donk 18 12 30
Sliema ASC 17 12 29
Sliema ASC 15 13 28
AVK Slovan Olimpija 8 2 10

Quarterfinals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Vitória Sport Clube 15–36 ZV De Zaan 11–23 4–13
EVK Zaibas 24–22 KVP Novaky 16–8 8–14
Clube Fluvial Portuense 25–38[a] GZC Donk 20–12 13–18
AVK Slovan Olimpija 10–28 Sliema ASC 8–15 2–13
  1. ^ Order of legs reversed.

Matches

18 January 2025
17:00
Report Vitória Sport Clube 11–23 ZV De Zaan Guimaraes, Portugal
Referees:
Tomi Kavcic (SLO), Jeremie Peden (FRA)
Score by quarters: 3–7, 3–4, 4–7, 1–5
Ferreira Sousa, Lopes 3 Goals Brantjes 4
1 February 2025
20:30
Report ZV De Zaan 13–4 Vitória Sport Clube Het Sloterparkbad, Amsterdam
Referees:
Rastko Prlic (SRB), Lukasz Krol (POL)
Score by quarters: 5–2, 4–1, 3–1, 1–0
Janssen, Rempt 3 Goals four players 1

ZV De Zaan won 36–15 on aggregate


18 January 2025
19:00
Report EVK Zaibas 16–8 KVP Novaky Elektrenai, Lithuania
Referees:
Manuel Manea (ROU), Berk Gunkut (TUR)
Score by quarters: 4–3, 4–1, 4–4, 4–0
Bosic, Jelaca 4 Goals Bielik, Furman 2
1 February 2025
17:30
Report KVP Novaky 14–8 EVK Zaibas National Water Polo Centre, Nováky
Referees:
Alex De Raffaele (MLT), Matjaz Homovec (SLO)
Score by quarters: 3–3, 3–1, 4–2, 4–2
Bielk 4 Goals Krapic 2

EVK Zaibas won 24–22 on aggregate


18 January 2025
14:00
Report GZC Donk 20–12 Clube Fluvial Portuense Groenhovenbad, Gouda
Referees:
Miroslav Mijanovic (MNE), Tomas Kaseta (LTU)
Score by quarters: 5–3, 5–3, 2–2, 8–4
Veenhuis 5 Goals three players 2
1 February 2025
15:30
Report Clube Fluvial Portuense 13–18 GZC Donk Porto, Portugal
Referees:
Bogdan Beljin (SRB), Branimir Butigan (BIH)
Score by quarters: 3–6, 3–6, 1–2, 6–4
Mendes Teixeira 3 Goals Van Den Heuvel 5

GZC Donk won 38–25 on aggregate


18 January 2025
18:00
Report AVK Slovan Olimpija 8–15 Sliema ASC Ljubljana, Slovenia
Score by quarters: 2–5, 3–1, 1–4, 2–5
three players 2 Goals Galea, Zammit 5
1 February 2025
17:30
Report Sliema ASC 13–2 AVK Slovan Olimpija National Pool, Sliema
Referees:
Ali Tufan Cakirgil (TUR), Ruben Garcia (SUI)
Score by quarters: 2–0, 5–1, 2–1, 4–0
Galea, Zammit 3 Goals Policnik 2

Sliema ASC won 28–10 on aggregate

Semifinals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
ZV De Zaan 20–22 EVK Zaibas 9–9 11–13
GZC Donk 30–29 Sliema ASC 18–17 12–12

Matches

22 February 2025
20:30
Report ZV De Zaan 9–9 EVK Zaibas Het Sloterparkbad, Amsterdam
Referees:
Norbert Ercse (HUN), Gregory Courbin (FRA)
Score by quarters: 2–1, 3–2, 3–4, 1–2
Rempt 3 Goals Jonkus, Vitkauskas 2
8 March 2025
18:00
Report EVK Zaibas 13–11 ZV De Zaan Elektrenai, Lithuania
Referees:
Arnaldo Petronilli (ITA), Maxim Gerasimov (GBR)
Score by quarters: 3–2, 4–3, '4–3, 2–3
three players 3 Goals Janssen 4

EVK Zaibas won 22–20 on aggregate


22 February 2025
20:00
Report GZC Donk 18–17 Sliema ASC Groenhovenbad, Gouda
Referees:
Alex Marquez (ESP), Mihai George Balanescu (ROU)
Score by quarters: 7–3, 1–4, 5–3, 5–7
Veenhuis 7 Goals Zammit 5
8 March 2025
17:30
Report Sliema ASC 12–12 GZC Donk National Pool, Sliema
Referees:
Miroslav Mijanovic (MNE), Georgios K. Polychronopoulos (GRE)
Score by quarters: 6–6, 1–1, 3–3, 2–2
Schouwerwou 3 Goals Zammit 3

GZC Donk won 30–29 on aggregate

Final

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
EVK Zaibas 22–23 GZC Donk 13–11 9–12

Matches

12 April 2025
19:00
Report EVK Zaibas 13–11 GZC Donk Elektrenai, Lithuania
Referees:
Norbert Ercse (HUN), Tomi Kavcic (SLO)
Score by quarters: 2–3, 5–2, 2–2, 4–4
Jelaca 7 Goals van Ijperen, Winkelhorst
26 April 2025
14:00
Report GZC Donk 12–9 EVK Zaibas Groenhovenbad, Gouda
Referees:
Pau Segurana (ESP), Daniele Bianco (ITA)
Score by quarters: 2–1, 4–2, 3–3, 3–3
van Ijperen 5 Goals four players 2

GZC Donk won 23–22 on aggregate


2024–25 European Aquatics Challenger Cup Champions

GZC Donk
First title

See also

References

  1. ^ "Last-second winner sees Donk lift Challenger Cup trophy in Gouda - European Aquatics®". April 26, 2025.
  2. ^ https://www.len.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/REGULATIONS-EUROPEAN-AQUATICS-WATER-POLO-CLUB-COMPETITIONS-1.pdf
  3. ^ "Men Clubs Country Ranking - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. August 18, 2024.
  4. ^ "Slovenija po dolgem času s predstavnikom v ligi prvakov". siol.net.
  5. ^ "Vodnopólové Nováky hostia Challenger Cup. Chceme postup z 1. miesta, znie z klubu". sportnet.sme.sk.
  6. ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (October 31, 2024). "Sliema and Sirens target qualification to next round of LEN Challenger Cup". SportsDesk.
  7. ^ LEN, Juliana (September 16, 2024). "Several Exciting Clashes Confirmed For Euro Cup and Challenger Cup Qualifiers - European Aquatics®". www.len.eu.
  8. ^ "Men Club Ranking - European Aquatics®". www.len.eu. September 23, 2024.
  9. ^ "Men Clubs Country Ranking - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. September 23, 2024.
  10. ^ "Men Country Ranking - European Aquatics®". www.len.eu. September 23, 2024.