![]() Official logo | |
Sport | Water polo |
---|---|
Founded | 2008 |
No. of teams | 12 |
Country | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Continent | LEN (Europe) |
Most recent champion(s) | Novi Beograd (2nd title) (2023–24) |
Most titles | Jug (5 titles) |
TV partner(s) | Arena Sport |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Domestic cup(s) | No |
Official website | rwp-league |
The Regional Water Polo League (abbr. RWP), commonly known as the Regional League or Adriatic League, is a regional water polo league in Southeast Europe. Originally, the league featured clubs from Croatia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. In later years, clubs from Serbia joined the league and in one season club from Italy participated in the league.
The league was established in 2008 as the "Adriatic Water Polo League" and the inaugural 2008–09 season consisted of clubs from Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia. Members of the inaugural season were Jug, Mladost, Primorje, POŠK, Jadran Split, Medveščak Zagreb, Šibenik, Mornar, Jadran, Primorac, Budva, and Koper. The first league champions were VK Jug.
In the 2009–10 season, Cattaro joined the league and the Final Four was introduced into the league. In the 2011–12 season, the Italian water polo club Pro Recco request to join the Adriatic League was granted and immediately in their first season they became champions, but left the league after the season. The Serbian clubs (Partizan, Crvena zvezda, Radnički and Vojvodina) joined the league in the 2014–15 season. [1]
Starting from the 2015–16 season, second-tier Regional League A2 was introduced. [2]
In February 2019, three team members of Serbian club Crvena zvezda were attacked in Split by Croatian ultra-nationalists, before regional league game against Mornar. [3] The incident was condemned by Croatian and Serbian public, and by many organizations and officials as well. [4] Following the incident, the Water Polo Federation of Serbia and Serbian clubs in competition sought to not play any further games in Split, and competition's Board of Directors made a decision to postpone any further games in Split in which Serbian clubs are included. [5]
Starting with the 2020–21 season, the league is played in different format due to the COVID-19 pandemic, having two groups (2020–21 season with host cities being Belgrade and Dubrovnik, and 2021–22 season with host cities Belgrade and Split) and final tournament (2020–21 host being Zagreb, and 2021–22 host being Belgrade); [6] In 2020–21 season, the Serbian club Radnički eventually won their first championship, thus ending 8-year dominance of the Croatian clubs. In 2021–22 season, the newcomer to the competition, Novi Beograd, lifted its maiden trophy. [7]
Clubs that participate in the 2023–24 season:
The following is a list of clubs who have played in the Regional Water Polo League at any time since its formation in 2008 to the current season. A total of 22 clubs from five countries have played in the top-tier of the Regional League.
– | Played in second-tier division (established 2015–16) | |||||
1st | Champions | |||||
2nd | Runners-up | |||||
3rd | Third place | |||||
SF | Semi-finalists | |||||
R | Regular season champions |
Club | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Total seasons | Highest finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | — | — | — | — | — | 12th | 15th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 12th |
![]() | 5th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 4th | 6th | 11th | — | 7th | 9th | — | 8th | 12th | 13th | — | — | 12 | 4th |
![]() | — | 6th | 12th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 6th |
![]() | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8th | 10th | — | — | 7th | 5th | 5th | 6th | 6th | 5th | 8 | 5th |
![]() | 9th | 10th | 10th | 12th | 7th | 9th | 12th | — | 8th | SF | SF | SF | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 15 | 2nd |
![]() | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 5th | 8th | SF | 5th | SF | 2nd | SF | SF | SF | 6th | 5th | 8th | 4th | 16 | 1st |
![]() | 1st | 2ndR | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1stR | 1stR | 1stR | 2nd | 2nd | 2ndR | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 16 | 1st |
![]() | 10th | 13th | 8th | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 8th |
![]() | 11th | 11th | 9th | 9th | 10th | 10th | 14th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 9th |
![]() | 4th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | SF | SF | SF | 2nd | 1stR | 1stR | 4th | 9th | 5th | 9th | 16 | 1st |
![]() | 8th | 8th | 7th | 6th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 6th | 6th | 5th | 6th | 10th | — | 12th | 10th | 11th | 15 | 5th |
![]() | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1stR | SFR | 1stR | 3 | 1st |
![]() | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6th | 5th | SF | 6th | 9th | 9th | 10th | 7th | 9th | 12th | 10 | SF |
![]() | 12th | 12th | 13th | 8th | 6th | 8th | 10th | 9th | — | 7th | 10th | — | — | — | — | — | 10 | 6th |
![]() | 3rd | 3rd | 6th | 10th | 9th | 7th | 13th | — | — | 8th | 8th | 6th | 9th | 8th | 12th | — | 13 | 3rd |
![]() | 7th | 7th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1stR | 2nd | 5th | 10th | — | — | 11th | — | — | 7th | 12 | 1st |
![]() | — | — | — | 1st | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1st |
![]() | — | — | — | — | — | — | SF | 7th | — | — | — | — | 1st | 4th | SF | 6th | 6 | 1st |
![]() | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8th | 10th | 11th | 8th | 4 | 8th |
![]() | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5th | 7th | 7th | 11th | 7th | 10th | 6 | 5th |
![]() | 6th | 9th | 11th | 13th | 12th | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 6th |
![]() | — | — | — | — | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 11th |
![]() | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9th | 8th | 9th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 8th |
Season [8] | Champions | Runners-up | Result | 1st of Regular Season |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008–09 | ![]() | ![]() | – note | ![]() |
2009–10 | ![]() | ![]() | 11–8 | ![]() |
2010–11 | ![]() | ![]() | 9–7 | ![]() |
2011–12 | ![]() | ![]() | 15–4 | ![]() |
2012–13 | ![]() | ![]() | 9–8 | ![]() |
2013–14 | ![]() | ![]() | 8–7 | ![]() |
2014–15 | ![]() | ![]() | 15–9 | ![]() |
2015–16 | ![]() | ![]() | 9–5 | ![]() |
2016–17 | ![]() | ![]() | 15–3 | ![]() |
2017–18 | ![]() | ![]() | 15–8 | ![]() |
2018–19 | ![]() | ![]() | 13–12 | ![]() |
2019–20 | ![]() | ![]() | 15–11 | ![]() |
2020–21 | ![]() | ![]() | 14–12 | ![]() |
2021–22 | ![]() | ![]() | 14–11 | ![]() |
2022–23 | ![]() | ![]() | 14–12 | ![]() |
2023–24 | ![]() | ![]() | – note | ![]() |
note The league was played in a round-robin tournament format.
Season [9] | MVP | Top Scorer |
---|---|---|
2008–09 | ![]() | |
2009–10 | ![]() | |
2010–11 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() |
2011–12 | ![]() | ![]() |
2012–13 | ![]() | ![]() |
2013–14 | ![]() | ![]() |
2014–15 | ![]() | |
2015–16 | ![]() | |
2016–17 | ![]() | ![]() |
2017–18 | ![]() | ![]() |
2018–19 | ![]() | ![]() |
2019–20 | ![]() | |
2020–21 | ![]() | ![]() |
2021–22 | ![]() | ![]() |
2022–23 | ![]() | ![]() |
Club | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runners-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | 5 | 8 | 2008–09, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2022–23 | 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21 |
![]() | 3 | 2 | 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 | 2011–12, 2015–16 |
![]() | 2 | 2 | 2009–10, 2010–11 | 2008–09, 2016–17 |
![]() | 2 | 1 | 2018–19, 2019–20 | 2017–18 |
![]() | 2 | 0 | 2021–22, 2023–24 | |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 2011–12 | |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 2020–21 | |
![]() | 0 | 3 | 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24 | |
Club / Nation | Won | Runners-up |
---|---|---|
![]() | 10 | 14 |
![]() | 3 | 0 |
![]() | 2 | 2 |
![]() | 1 | 0 |
The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league was also known as the Goodyear League from 2001 to 2006, the NLB League from 2006 to 2011, and as the AdmiralBet ABA League from 2021.
The First Federal Basketball League was the highest tier level men's professional club basketball competition in SFR Yugoslavia. Founded in 1945 and folded in 1992, it was run by the Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia. With a total of 16 European-wide trophy winners and 11 finalists, the Yugoslav First Basketball League was one of the strongest European national domestic basketball leagues of all time.
Vanja Udovičić is a Serbian politician and former professional water polo player who served as minister of youth and sports from 2013 to 2022. An independent politician, he is aligned with the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
Filip Filipović is a Serbian professional water polo player widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He was a member of the Serbia men's national water polo teams that won bronze medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and gold medals in 2016 and 2020. He also held the world title in 2009 and 2015 and the European title in 2003, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. He was named Most Valuable Player at the 2011 World Championships. He was also voted as the male water polo "World Player of the Year" in 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2021 by the FINA magazine. He played for Pro Recco in Italy and won three LEN Champions League and three LEN Super Cup with them. Currently, he plays for Novi Beograd.
Duško Pijetlović is a Serbian water polo center forward for VK Novi Beograd. He was a member of the Serbia men's national water polo teams that won Olympic gold medals in 2016 and 2020, and bronze medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. He held the world title in 2009 and 2015 and the European title in 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. Pijetlović won three consecutive Euroleague titles with three teams: in 2011 with Partizan in 2012 with Pro Recco and in 2013 with Crvena Zvezda.
Andrija Prlainović is a Serbian professional water polo player widely regarded as one of the greatest players ever. He was a member of the Serbia men's national water polo teams that won bronze medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and gold medals in 2016 and 2020. He also held the world title in 2009 and 2015 and the European title in 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. In 2011, he won the LEN Euroleague with VK Partizan and in 2013 with Red Star Belgrade, where he was one of the best scorers.
Košarkaški klub FMP, commonly referred to as KK FMP or as FMP Soccerbet due to sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional basketball club based in Belgrade, Serbia. The club plays in the ABA League, the Basketball League of Serbia, and the Basketball Champions League. Their home arena is the Železnik Hall.
The LEN Champions League is the top-tier European professional water polo club competition with teams from up to 18 countries. It is organized by the Ligue Européenne de Natation.
The Serbian Water polo League A is the highest level of men's water polo in Serbia and it is organized by the Water polo Federation of Serbia.
The Yugoslav Water Polo Championship was the premier league competition for men's water polo clubs in Yugoslavia. Originally established in 1921 in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, it ran for almost 20 years before being suspended due to the Second World War and the Invasion of Yugoslavia.
The 2014–15 Adriatic League was the 7th season of the Adriatic Water Polo League, with 15 teams from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Slovenia participating in it.
Ivica Tucak is a Croatian professional water polo coach and former player who has been the head coach of the Croatia men's national water polo team since 16 September 2012.
The 2019–20 ABA League First Division was the 19th season of the ABA League with 12 teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Serbia participating in it. The season started on 4 October 2019 and played its last games on 9 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marko Radulović is a Serbian professional water polo player for Novi Beograd. He is 1.94 metres (6.4 ft) tall and weighs 94 kilograms (207 lb).
The 2019–20 KK Crvena zvezda season was the 75th season in the existence of the club. For the season it is referred to as KK Crvena zvezda mts for sponsorship reasons. The club played in the Adriatic League and the EuroLeague, which were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The season in the Basketball League of Serbia had no start due to the same reason.
VK Novi Beograd is a professional water polo club based in New Belgrade, Serbia. As of 2023–24 season, the club competes in the Serbian League, Regional League A1 and LEN Champions League.
The 2021–22 LEN Champions League was the 59th edition of LEN's premier competition for men's water polo clubs.
The 2022–23 Admiral Bet Basketball League of Serbia is the 17th season of the Basketball League of Serbia, the top-tier professional basketball league in Serbia. Also, it is the 78th national championship played by Serbian clubs inclusive of the nation's previous incarnations as Yugoslavia and Serbia & Montenegro.
The 1994–95 YUBA League was the third season of the YUBA League, the top-tier professional basketball league in Yugoslavia.
The 2023–24 LEN Champions League is the 61st edition of LEN's premier competition for men's water polo clubs. Because of the congested schedule, there's a new format this year. Pro Recco are the three time defending champions.