World Aquatics Finalizes Qualification System for LA 2028 Olympics
The International Olympic Committee and World Aquatics on Thursday published the final qualification system for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
The qualification scheme is available here. Like qualification for other aquatics sport, it’s a collaborative effort between the IOC Sports Department, the World Aquatics Bureau, the World Aquatics Water Polo Technical Committee, and major aquatics stakeholders.
“Finalising the Qualification System for water polo is another milestone on the road to LA28,” World Aquatics president Husain Al-Musallam said in a press release. “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.”
The men’s and women’s water polo tournaments will each feature 12 teams, a level of gender parity for the first time.
The 12 places will be allocated as follows:
- The U.S., automatically qualifying as the host nation
- The highest placed NOC from the World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup 2027 Final (location TBA)
- The top two NOCs from the 2027 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest
- The highest-placed NOC at five Continental Championships from July 2027-Jan. 2028
- The top three NCOS at a World Aquatics World qualifier to be held in 2028.
The World Aquatics document did not specify which continental championships will be used. For the 2024 Paris Olympics, the 2023 Pan American Games, 2024 European Championships and 2023 Asian Games (moved back from 2022) were used. The Paris Olympics also had an impromptu 2024 World Aquatics Championships early in an Olympic year, thanks to delays forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, to serve as a final qualifier.
Water polo at the Los Angeles Olympics will be held starting in the first week of the competition, with matches predating the July 14 opening ceremonies. Water polo at the Long Beach Aquatics Center will run from July 12-22 for the men and July 13-23 for the women.
