Great Britain squads selected for World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup

Great Britain have selected both their senior men’s and women’s squads for the World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup.

The competitions in Istanbul round out a memorable 2024 for British water polo, when they take on opposition from across the globe at the Maltepe University pool.

This year’s edition of the World Cup has been split into two divisions, with Great Britain competing in Division 2 as they look to secure one of two spots up for grabs at the World Cup Super-Final in each event.

The women’s competition kicks off the action as a 14-strong squad travel to Turkiye from Saturday 14 to Tuesday 17 December.

Newly appointed senior women’s head coach, Theo Nousios, has selected a dynamic squad that brings together experienced athletes from the European and World Championships alongside some promising talents from the GB junior teams.

They’ve been in drawn in Group A of the 12-team competition alongside hosts Turkiye and Kazakhstan.

In the event’s opening match, GB will meet Kazakhstan for the first time since they secured eleventh place at the World Championships with an 8-6 victory. They’ll then be back in the pool a day later to take on Turkiye, with a top two finish giving them a chance of progressing to the latter stages.

The senior men’s side will then join the action from Wednesday 18 to Saturday 21 December.

Nick Hume will take temporary charge of the side before returning to his role with the junior women’s squad – where he led England’s U18s to gold at the EU Nations Cup last month.

For the men’s side, the World Cup will be a big chance for younger talent to impress at a senior level as they join established stars such as Jordan Elliot and Elliot McHugh in the Turkish capital.

They’ve been drawn in a tough group with Portugal and China, who they’ll meet on the opening day of action as they look to book themselves a quarter-finals spot.

You can find out all of the information about the World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup events on the World Aquatics website.

A fantastic opportunity

Speaking on the upcoming tournament, Swim England Water Polo Talent Athlete of the Year Katie Brown, is hopeful of the women’s teams chances in Istanbul.

She said: “We’re really excited to be back together and to be competing on the world stage.

“We have a new coach in Theo and the team are really looking forward to working with him on our approach throughout the competition.

“This year the World Cup has been split into two divisions and we believe we have a really good chance in division two.

“There’s some tough teams such as France, who finished in similar positions to us at both the World’s and Europeans, but we’re really hoping we can go far.”

Ahead of both teams travelling across the continent, Swim England Water Polo Programme Lead, Craig Figes, said this was a great opportunity for both sides to continue their progression.

He added: “The World Aquatics World Cup provides a fantastic opportunity for both our men’s and women’s teams to take on opposition not just from across Europe but from teams across the globe.

“We have two strong squads heading out to Turkiye and as the competition takes place outside of an international window, this event gives a number of top junior players a well-deserved chance to play at a senior level.

“The prospect of playing this level of opposition doesn’t come around too often and on the men’s side this is the start of a longer-term process to develop the team and make them as competitive as possible.

“We’re hoping they can progress from their performances at the EU Nations Cup and gain more valuable experience as we head into 2025.”