Water Polo at the
2028 Summer Games
Water polo at LA 2028 is played at the Long Beach Aquatics Center, a temporary open-air pool on the city’s waterfront — and for the first time in Games history, the men’s and women’s tournaments field an equal number of teams. A guide to the venue, the format, past champions, and the history of the sport at the Summer Games.
LA 2028 Water Polo Overview
Water polo at the 2028 Summer Games is staged at the Long Beach Aquatics Center, a temporary open-air stadium built in the Long Beach Convention Center lot on the city’s coastline. It is one of eleven events Long Beach will host, the most of any city outside Los Angeles, clustering water polo alongside artistic swimming, open water swimming, sailing, and other waterfront competitions.
LA 2028 marks a historic milestone for the sport: for the first time, the men’s and women’s tournaments field an equal number of teams, with twelve competing in each. It is part of a wider gender-parity landmark for the 2028 program, in which every team sport features an equal or greater number of women’s teams than men’s for the first time. Both tournaments run a group stage into a knockout bracket culminating in the medal matches.
Format & Sessions
Water polo is played seven-a-side across four periods, with both tournaments running a group stage into quarterfinals, semifinals, and medal matches. The preliminary phase spreads multiple matches across each day, giving way to single-elimination knockout stakes as the fields narrow. With twelve teams in each draw, the group stage is deep and the path to a medal demanding.
LA 2028 Water Polo Venue: Long Beach Aquatics Center
Water polo at the 2028 Summer Games is held at the Long Beach Aquatics Center, a temporary open-air stadium constructed in the Long Beach Convention Center lot on the waterfront. The purpose-built pool sits against the backdrop of the Long Beach coastline and also stages artistic swimming during the Games. Long Beach has a deep connection to the Games, having hosted events in both 1932 and 1984. For official venue information see the official LA28 venue page, and for the sport’s international body see World Aquatics.
The Long Beach Waterfront
The Long Beach Aquatics Center anchors a dense cluster of waterfront events, with the convention center area putting water polo within walking distance of several other competitions and close to downtown Long Beach’s hotel inventory. For groups following the aquatic program, a Long Beach base offers walkable access to multiple venues without cross-city transfers, and the city’s coastline provides one of the more scenic settings of the Games.
Water Polo at the Summer Games: History
Men’s water polo is one of the oldest team sports on the Summer Games program, contested since the 1900 Games. Women’s water polo is far newer, debuting at the 2000 Games, and has grown rapidly in the decades since. Hungary is the most decorated nation in the men’s game, with a run of dominance across the 20th century, while the United States has become the standard-bearer in the women’s game in the modern era.
The US women’s team has been among the most successful programs in any sport, winning multiple consecutive gold medals in recent Games. On the men’s side, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Italy, Spain, and Greece have been the leading European powers. LA 2028’s move to equal team numbers reflects the women’s game reaching full parity with the men’s after more than a century’s gap between their debuts.
Recent Summer Games — Gold Medalists
| Tournament | 2024 Paris | 2020 Tokyo |
|---|---|---|
| Men’s Water Polo | Serbia | Serbia |
| Women’s Water Polo | Spain | United States |
What to Expect at LA 2028
Water polo at a home Games arrives with the US women’s program among the most successful in the sport’s history and a men’s field led by Europe’s traditional powers. The open-air Long Beach setting, on the water’s edge, gives the tournament one of the more distinctive atmospheres of the aquatic program, and the historic move to equal team numbers adds a landmark dimension to the 2028 edition.
The Field
In the men’s tournament, Serbia, Hungary, Croatia, Italy, Spain, and Greece are perennial contenders. In the women’s game, the United States, Spain, Australia, the Netherlands, and Hungary lead a deepening field. With twelve teams in each draw and host quota places secured, Team USA will contest both tournaments.
US Interest
The US women’s water polo team is one of the most dominant programs in American sport, having claimed gold across multiple recent Games. A home Games on the Long Beach coastline gives the team and its supporters a distinct connection to the 2028 tournament, and the women’s medal matches are expected to be among the sought-after aquatic sessions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Sports at LA 2028
Water polo is one of many sports on the 2028 program. Individual sport guides for LA 2028 are listed below.
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