Water polo at the 1980 Summer Olympics as usual was a part of the swimming sport, other two parts were swimming and diving. They were not three separate sports, because they all were governed by one federation — FINA. Water Polo discipline consisted of one event: men's team. In the preliminary round 12 teams were divided into three groups. Two best teams from each group advanced to Group A of the final round to determine places 1 through 6. The rest of teams played in Group B of the final round to determine places 7 through 12.
The FINA Water Polo World League is an international water polo league organized by FINA, which plays annually, typically from winter through to June. League play features continental tournaments for men and women, from which the top teams emerge to play in the championship tournament where the league champion team is crowned. Men's league play began in 2002, to capitalize on increased worldwide popularity of water polo created by the 2000 Olympic Games, especially in Europe, North America and Australia. The women’s league was added in 2004, based on growing interest in women's play.
Water polo at the 1964 Summer Olympics was held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Shibuya, Tokyo. The gymnasium was built in 1961-1964 as the first indoor pool for Olympic water polo; it also hosted all swimming and diving events and could accommodate over 13,000 people.
Final results for the water polo tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics.
The 2002 FINA Men's Water Polo World League was the first edition of the annual event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the FINA. After two preliminary rounds the Super Final was held in Patras, Greece from August 1 to August 4, 2002.
The 2008 FINA Men's Water Polo World League was the seventh edition of the annual event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the FINA. After five preliminary rounds the Super Final was held in Genoa, Italy from June 16 to June 22, 2008.
The 2004 FINA Men's Water Polo World League was the third edition of the annual event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the FINA. After a preliminary round, the Super Final was held in Long Beach, United States.
The 2006 FINA Men's Water Polo World League was the fifth edition of the annual event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the FINA. After a preliminary round and a semifinal round, the Super Final was held in Athens, Greece.
The 2009 FINA Men's Water Polo World League was the eighth edition of the annual event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the FINA. After a preliminary round organized by continent, the Super Final was held in Podgorica, Montenegro, from 16 June to 21 June 2009.
The 2010 FINA Men's Water Polo World League was the ninth edition of the annual event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the FINA. After a preliminary round organized by continent, the Super Final was held in Niš, Serbia from July 13–18, 2010.
Serbia won this year's edition after a final victory over Montenegro 14–12.
The 2011 FINA Men's Water Polo World League was the tenth edition of the annual event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the FINA. After a preliminary round, the Super Final was held in Firenze, Italy from June 21–26, 2011. Serbia ended up being champions, defending the title acquired the previous year and was the first team to qualify for the 2012 Olympic men's water polo tournament.
The 2014 FINA Men's Water Polo Chinese League is played between November 2001 and June 2002 and open to all men's water polo Chinese teams. After playing in groups within the same continent, eight teams qualify to play in a final tournament, called the Chinese Final in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 12–17 June 2012. The two teams that reach the final of the Super Final will be the first teams to quality for the water polo tournament of the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona.
Montenegro competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's third consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics since it gained independence from Serbia in 2006.
Serbia competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's fifth appearance at the Summer Olympics as an independent nation.
The men's tournament of water polo at the 2020 Summer Olympics at Tokyo, Japan began on 25 July and ended on 8 August 2021. It was held at the Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center. It was the 27th official appearance of the tournament, which was not held in 1896 and was a demonstration sport in 1904 but otherwise had been held at every Olympics.
The 2020 FINA Men's Water Polo World League was the 19th edition of the annual men's international water polo tournament. It was played between November 2019 and July 2021 and open to all men's water polo national teams. After participating in a preliminary round, eight teams qualified to play in a final tournament, called the Super Final, originally scheduled from 23 to 28 June 2020. The tournament was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2020, it was announced that it would be played in from January to July 2021.
This article presents the national team appearances in the men's Olympic water polo tournament since the inaugural official edition in 1900.
Montenegro competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's fourth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics since gaining independence in 2006.
Hungary 
Spain 
Russia 
Greece 
Australia 
China 
Canada 
Serbia and Montenegro 
Croatia 
United States 
Italy 
Germany 
Romania 
Brazil 
