The water polo draw for the 17th FINA World Championships took place over the weekend, revealing both the men and women's play-offs.
Both groups will have 16 teams competing against each other. The women's group will start on July 16, while the men's competition will start on the following day. The final of the women's tournament will be held July 28, while the men's tournament will be held on the 29th, both at the Hajós Alfréd Swimming Pool.
During the event, Tünde Szabó, secretary of state for Sport, stressed the importance of the FINA World Championships in Budapest this summer:
‘This event will be one of the biggest sport events ever held in Hungary, this international event will give so much opportunity for Hungarian sport to show off and guide the spotlight on us, to make history here. We are standing in front of an event which will be an unforgettable event not only for the fans, but for the coaches and the athletes as well," she said.
The women’s water polo groups:
Group A: Italy, Brazil, Canada, China
Group B: New Zeeland, South Africa, Spain, USA
Group C: Japan, Netherland, Hungary, France
Group D: Australia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Greece
The men’s water polo groups:
Group A: Brazil, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Canada
Group B: France, Australia, Italy, Hungary
Group C: Spain, Serbia, Greece, South Africa
Group D: USA, Japan, Croatia, Russia
According to FINA, the first placed teams from each group will automatically reach the quarterfinals. Second place from each group will have to compete against the team in third place to reach the best 8 teams.
The 2017 FINA World Championships will take place in Budapest and Balatonfüred from July 14 to 30, 2017, and will feature swimming, open-water swimming, synchronized swimming, diving, high diving and water polo.
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