site.btaMen's European U-19 Water Polo Championship Starts in Burgas

The 2024 Men's European U-19 Water Polo Championship started on Sunday in Burgas. It will be held until September 7 at the Park Arena swimming complex in the seaside city.

The opening was attended by Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Stoyan Andonov. "It is an honour for Bulgaria to host this prestigious forum, in which the best European young water polo players will take part. I thank the team of the Bulgarian Water Polo Federation for their efforts in the development of this sport in our country and the organization of the championship," said Andonov.

Bulgaria started the tournament with a win over Slovenia with 15:11 (3:3, 5:5, 4:2, 3:1), with coach Ivaylo Patchaliev saying that the goal of his team is to win two matches in the first phase of the Championship. Bulgaria is in Group D, together with the teams of Slovenia, Romania and the Czech Republic. On Monday, the team will continue against the Czech Republic, before facing off against Romania on Tuesday.

The 16 participating teams are sorted into two Divisions, with both divisions split into two groups of four teams. The top two teams from each group of Division 1 will advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the other two teams from each group will play against one of the top two sides from each group in Division 2 in a play-off round.