2024–25 LEN Women's Challenger Cup

LEN Women's Challenger Cup
2024–25
Tournament information
Sport	Water polo
Dates	Qualification round I:; 7–10 November 2024; Qualification round II:; 7–8 December 2024; Final four:; 22–23 February 2025
Teams	Total: 17 (from 11 countries)
Website	Official website
	← 2023–24 2025–26 →

The 2024–25 LEN Women's Challenger Cup is the 2nd edition of the water polo competition organised by European Aquatics. It acted as the third tier, below the LEN Women's Champions League and the LEN Women's Euro Cup.

Izmir BSB Spor are the defending champions.

Format

17 teams are separated into four groups of four or five. Each group is held at one club. The top 2 from each group advance to Qualification round II. The last eight teams are then drawn into two groups of four, with the top two from both groups advancing to the final four to decide the champion.^[1]

Rankings

Only teams below the top 6 can enter the competition.

Rank^[2]	Association	Points	Teams
1	Spain	124,200	0
2	Greece	105,102.5
3	Hungary	89,452.5
4	Italy	76,760
5	France	35,147.5
6	Netherlands	13,785
7	Russia	9,217.5
8	Germany	8,290	2
9	Portugal	6,010	1
10	Malta	4,090	2

Rank	Association	Points	Teams
11	Croatia	2,930	2
12	Serbia	2,860	2
13	Turkey	2,560	3
14	Slovakia	1,715	0
15	Great Britain	1,330	2
16	Israel	1,250	1
17	Sweden	1,060	0
18	Bulgaria	770	0
19	Czech Republic	770	1
N/A	Romania	0	1

Teams

Only countries below the top 6 in the LEN women's club rankings can enter teams into this competition.^[3]

Participating teams
ŽAVK Mladost	Jadran Split	AJF Strakonice	SSV Esslingen
SV Blau-Weiss Bochum	Otter Swimming Club	City Of Manchester WPC	Hapoel Emek Hayarden
Sirens ASC	Sliema ASC	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	CSM Unirea Alba Iulia
VK Vojvodina	ZVK Crvena Zvezda	Izmir BSB Spor	Galatasaray Zena
Dalton Koleji SK

Schedule

Rounds and dates

Phase	Round date
Qualification round I	7–10 November 2024
Qualification round II	7–8 December 2024
Final four	22–23 February 2025

Qualification round I

In the qualification round I, teams play in a round robin format. The top 2 in each group advance.

Draw

The draw was on 16 September 2024.^[4] H indicates which club is hosting the groups. Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The seeding was decided by as follows:

The European Aquatics club rankings.^[5]
European Aquatics country club rankings.^[6]
European Aquatics women's national team rankings.^[7]

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Sirens ASC (H) Izmir BSB Spor ZVK Crvena Zvezda ŽAVK Mladost	Sport Lisboa e Benfica Jadran Split VK Vojvodina (H) AJF Strakonice (H)	City Of Manchester WPC Otter Swimming Club SSV Esslingen SV Blau-Weiss Bochum	Sliema ASC Galatasaray Zena Dalton Koleji SK Hapoel Emek Hayarden CSM Unirea Alba Iulia (H)

Group A

Held in Novi Sad, Serbia

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	IZM	VOJ	MAN	SLI
1	Izmir BSB Spor	3	3	0	48	16	+32	9	Qualification round II	—	—	—	—
2	VK Vojvodina (H)	3	2	1	42	27	+15	6	Qualification round II	8–13	—	14–9	20–5
3	City Of Manchester WPC	3	1	2	33	35	−2	3		6–12	—	—	18–9
4	Sliema ASC	3	0	3	16	61	−45	0		2–23	—	—	—

Source: European Aquatics
(H) Host

8 November 2024 19:00	Report	VK Vojvodina	20–5	Sliema ASC	Slana Bara Sports Center, Novi Sad Referees: Nikolett Sajben (HUN), Karel Dvoracek (CZE)
		Score by quarters: 5–0, 6–2, 7–0, 2–3
		Radonjic 5	Goals	Camilleri, Schembri 2

8 November 2024 21:00	Report	City Of Manchester WPC	6–12	Izmir BSB Spor	Slana Bara Sports Center, Novi Sad Referees: Sara Kontek (CRO), Luis Santos (POR)
		Score by quarters: 2–4, 0–3, 0–4, 4–1
		Cutler 3	Goals	Louise Wright 5

9 November 2024 19:00	Report	VK Vojvodina	14–9	City Of Manchester WPC	Slana Bara Sports Center, Novi Sad Referees: Nikolett Sajben (HUN), Luis Santos (POR)
		Score by quarters: 2–1, 4–4, 6–2, 2–2
		Radonjic, Savchenko 4	Goals	three players 2

9 November 2024 21:00	Report	Sliema ASC	2–23	Izmir BSB Spor	Slana Bara Sports Center, Novi Sad Referees: Sara Kontek (CRO), Karel Dvoracek (CZE)
		Score by quarters: 0–7, 0–6, 1–4, 1–6
		Camilleri, Schembri 1	Goals	Kus 7

10 November 2024 10:00	Report	VK Vojvodina	8–13	Izmir BSB Spor	Slana Bara Sports Center, Novi Sad Referees: Luis Santos (POR), Karel Dvoracek (CZE)
		Score by quarters: 1–2, 2–4, 1–5, 4–2
		Amliaeva 3	Goals	Jackovich 5

10 November 2024 12:00	Report	City Of Manchester WPC	18–9	Sliema ASC	Slana Bara Sports Center, Novi Sad Referees: Nikolett Sajben (HUN), Sara Kontek (CRO)
		Score by quarters: 6–2, 7–2, 3–3, 2–2
		seven players 2	Goals	Paolella 5

Group B

Held in Valletta, Malta

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	JAD	BOC	SIR	HAP
1	Jadran Split	3	3	0	47	20	+27	9	Qualification round II	—	15–10	—	—
2	SV Blau-Weiss Bochum	3	2	1	44	33	+11	6	Qualification round II	—	—	—	19–11
3	Sirens ASC (H)	3	1	2	27	36	−9	3		6–11	7–15	—	14–10
4	Hapoel Emek Hayarden	3	0	3	25	54	−29	0		4–21	—	—	—

Source: European Aquatics
(H) Host

8 November 2024 18:00	Report	Jadran Split	15–10	SV Blau-Weiss Bochum	Cottonera Sports Complex, Valletta Referees: Ilkin Cakmakoglu (TUR), Manuel Manea (ROU)
		Score by quarters: 4–5, 5–2, 4–1, 2–2
		Butic 5	Goals	Fry 3

8 November 2024 20:00	Report	Sirens ASC	14–10	Hapoel Emek Hayarden	Cottonera Sports Complex, Valletta Referees: Martina Kunikova (SVK), Damien Taylor (GBR)
		Score by quarters: 6–2, 3–4, 1–2, 4–2
		Perkins 8	Goals	Markovsky 3

9 November 2024 17:00	Report	Hapoel Emek Hayarden	4–21	Jadran Split	Cottonera Sports Complex, Valletta Referees: Damien Taylor (GBR), Ilkin Cakmakoglu (TUR)
		Score by quarters: 1–4, 2–5, 0–5, 1–7
		Markovsky, Vaizberg 2	Goals	Jankovic 4

9 November 2024 19:00	Report	Sirens ASC	7–15	SV Blau-Weiss Bochum	Cottonera Sports Complex, Valletta Referees: Manuel Manea (ROU), Martina Kunikova (SVK)
		Score by quarters: 1–4, 2–2, 2–4, 2–5
		Perkins 5	Goals	four players 3

10 November 2024 10:00	Report	SV Blau-Weiss Bochum	19–11	Hapoel Emek Hayarden	Cottonera Sports Complex, Valletta Referees: Ilkin Cakmakoglu (TUR), Martina Kunikova (SVK)
		Score by quarters: 5–2, 4–5, 6–2, 4–2
		Fry 6	Goals	Markovsky 4

10 November 2024 12:00	Report	Sirens ASC	6–11	Jadran Split	Cottonera Sports Complex, Valletta Referees: Manuel Manea (ROU), Damien Taylor (GBR)
		Score by quarters: 1–1, 3–5, 1–4, 1–1
		Perkins 3	Goals	Jankovic 5

Group C

Held in Strakonice, Czech Republic

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PSW	PSL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	MLA	OTT	DAL	STR
1	ŽAVK Mladost	3	3	0	0	0	66	21	+45	9	Qualification round II	—	26–6	18–5	—
2	Otter Swimming Club	3	1	1	0	1	28	45	−17	5	Qualification round II	—	—	13–10	—
3	Dalton Koleji SK	3	1	0	0	2	26	39	−13	3		—	—	—	—
4	AJF Strakonice (H)	3	0	0	1	2	27	42	−15	1		10–22	9–12^[a]	8–11	—

Source: European Aquatics
(H) Host

^ Matched finished 9–9, Otter Swimming Club won 3–0 on penalties.

8 November 2024 17:00	Report	Otter Swimming Club	13–10	Dalton Koleji SK	Strakonice Pool, Strakonice Referees: Michaela Naneva (BUL), Massimo Angileri (MLT)
		Score by quarters: 2–1, 4–1, 4–6, 3–2
		Snyder 5	Goals	Arik 4

8 November 2024 19:00	Report	AJF Strakonice	10–22	ŽAVK Mladost	Strakonice Pool, Strakonice Referees: Ivanka Rakovic Krstonosic (SRB), Ralf Mueller (GER)
		Score by quarters: 1–5, 3–6, 3–6, 3–5
		Hola 3	Goals	Rozic 9

9 November 2024 17:00	Report	ŽAVK Mladost	26–6	Otter Swimming Club	Strakonice Pool, Strakonice Referees: Massimo Angileri (MLT), Ralf Mueller (GER)
		Score by quarters: 7–1, 8–0, 7–4, 4–1
		Rozic 9	Goals	Mulcahy, Williams 2

9 November 2024 19:00	Report	AJF Strakonice	8–11	Dalton Koleji SK	Strakonice Pool, Strakonice Referees: Michaela Naneva (BUL), Ivanka Rakovic Krstonosic (SRB)
		Score by quarters: 3–1, 1–2, 3–4, 1–4
		Hola 3	Goals	Altiparmak 6

10 November 2024 09:00	Report	ŽAVK Mladost	18–5	Dalton Koleji SK	Strakonice Pool, Strakonice Referees: Ivanka Rakovic Krstonosic (SRB), Massimo Angileri (MLT)
		Score by quarters: 5–2, 3–0, 5–1, 5–2
		Glas 6	Goals	Altiparmak 3

10 November 2024 12:00	Report	AJF Strakonice	9–12	Otter Swimming Club	Strakonice Pool, Strakonice Referees: Michaela Naneva (BUL), Ralf Mueller (GER)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 2–1, 1–5, 3–1 PSO: 0–3
		Hola 6	Goals	Snyder 3

Group D

Held in Alba Iulia, Romania

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PSW	PSL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	BEN	GAL	UNI	ESS	CRV
1	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	4	3	1	0	0	59	33	+26	11	Qualification round II	—	—	13–11^[a]	11–10	—
2	Galatasaray Zena	4	3	0	0	1	43	38	+5	9	Qualification round II	8–12	—	10–8	10–8	—
3	CSM Unirea Alba Iulia (H)	4	2	0	1	1	50	31	+19	7		—	—	—	12–9	22–4
4	SSV Esslingen	4	1	0	0	3	53	36	+17	3		—	—	—	—	26–3
5	ZVK Crvena Zvezda	4	0	0	0	4	24	91	−67	0		7–28	10–15	—	—	—

Source: European Aquatics
(H) Host

^ Matched finished 8–8, Sport Lisboa e Benfica won 5–3 on penalties.

7 November 2024 17:00	Report	ZVK Crvena Zvezda	7–28	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	Olympic Pool, Alba Iulia Referees: Peden Jeremie (FRA), Jakub Necas (CZE)
		Score by quarters: 1–8, 3–6, 1–6, 2–8
		Milenkovic, Marinkovic 2	Goals	Macleod 7

7 November 2024 19:00	Report	CSM Unirea Alba Iulia	12–9	SSV Esslingen	Olympic Pool, Alba Iulia Referees: Soma Kovacs (HUN), Carla Martin (ESP)
		Score by quarters: 5–1, 4–5, 1–1, 2–2
		Yanisbel Victoria 3	Goals	Dzaja 4

8 November 2024 10:00	Report	Galatasaray Zena	8–12	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	Olympic Pool, Alba Iulia Referees: Peden Jeremie (FRA), Jakub Necas (CZE)
		Score by quarters: 0–2, 3–1, 2–4, 3–5
		Mihailovic 3	Goals	Silva Lousa 6

8 November 2024 12:00	Report	SSV Esslingen	26–3	ZVK Crvena Zvezda	Olympic Pool, Alba Iulia Referees: Carla Martin (ESP), Soma Kovacs (HUN)
		Score by quarters: 6–0, 4–2, 8–1, 8–0
		Haas 6	Goals	Trbanos 2

8 November 2024 17:00	Report	Galatasaray Zena	10–8	CSM Unirea Alba Iulia	Olympic Pool, Alba Iulia Referees: Soma Kovacs (HUN), Peden Jeremie (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 3–3, 4–2, 0–0
		Burali 5	Goals	Cecilia, Virtosu 3

8 November 2024 19:00	Report	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	11–10	SSV Esslingen	Olympic Pool, Alba Iulia Referees: Jakub Necas (CZE), Carla Martin (ESP)
		Score by quarters: 2–0, 4–2, 1–4, 4–4
		Macleod 6	Goals	Haas, Sopiadou 3

9 November 2024 17:00	Report	ZVK Crvena Zvezda	10–15	Galatasaray Zena	Olympic Pool, Alba Iulia Referees: Peden Jeremie (FRA), Carla Martin (ESP)
		Score by quarters: 1–4, 4–4, 2–2, 3–5
		Ribic 3	Goals	Benekou 6

9 November 2024 19:00	Report	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	13–11	CSM Unirea Alba Iulia	Olympic Pool, Alba Iulia Referees: Jakub Necas (CZE), Soma Kovacs (HUN)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 3–1, 3–4, 0–1 PSO: 5–3
		Macleod 5	Goals	Cecilia 3

10 November 2024 10:00	Report	Galatasaray Zena	10–8	SSV Esslingen	Olympic Pool, Alba Iulia Referees: Soma Kovacs (HUN), Carla Martin (ESP)
		Score by quarters: 3–0, 2–1, 4–4, 1–3
		Benekou 4	Goals	Petiki 3

10 November 2024 12:00	Report	CSM Unirea Alba Iulia	22–4	ZVK Crvena Zvezda	Olympic Pool, Alba Iulia Referees: Peden Jeremie (FRA), Jakub Necas (CZE)
		Score by quarters: 5–2, 5–0, 5–1, 7–1
		Novacean 4	Goals	Jankovic 2

Qualification round II

In the qualification round II, teams play in a round robin format. The top 2 in each group advance to the final four.

Draw

The draw was on 11 November 2024. The seeded and unseeded clubs consist of the teams that finished first and second in the previous round respectively. The only restriction was that clubs from the same group in the previous round could not be drawn against each other. H indicates which club is hosting the groups. Teams in bold advanced to the final four.

Pot 1	Pot 2
Izmir BSB Spor Jadran Split ŽAVK Mladost Sport Lisboa e Benfica	VK Vojvodina (H) SV Blau-Weiss Bochum Otter Swimming Club Galatasaray Zena (H)

Group A

Held in Istanbul, Turkey

Pos	Team	Qualification	GAL	IZM	JAD	OTT
1	Galatasaray Zena (H)	Final four	—
2	Izmir BSB Spor	Final four		—
3	Jadran Split				—
4	Otter Swimming Club					—

Source: European Aquatics
(H) Host

Group B

Held in Vojvodina, Serbia

Pos	Team	Qualification	VOJ	BEN	MLA	BOC
1	VK Vojvodina (H)	Final four	—
2	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	Final four		—
3	ŽAVK Mladost				—
4	SV Blau-Weiss Bochum					—

Source: European Aquatics
(H) Host

References

^ Renato Zivkovic (2024-07-29). "EUROPEAN AQUATICS WATER POLO CLUB COMPETITIONS" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-10-07.
^ "Women Clubs Country Ranking - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. February 20, 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-08-14.
^ "Big changes in European water polo club competitions - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. June 2, 2023.
^ "Several Exciting Clashes Confirmed For Euro Cup and Challenger Cup Qualifiers - European Aquatics®". len.eu. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
^ "Women Club Ranking - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. October 1, 2024.
^ "Women Clubs Country Ranking - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. October 1, 2024.
^ "Women Country Ranking - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. October 1, 2024.

External links

Official statistics of the tournament

[8] Matched finished 9–9, Otter Swimming Club won 3–0 on penalties.

[9] Matched finished 8–8, Sport Lisboa e Benfica won 5–3 on penalties.

[len.eu-1] Renato Zivkovic (2024-07-29). "EUROPEAN AQUATICS WATER POLO CLUB COMPETITIONS" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-10-07.

[auto-2] "Women Clubs Country Ranking - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. February 20, 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-08-14.

[len.eu2-3] "Big changes in European water polo club competitions - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. June 2, 2023.

[len.eu3-4] "Several Exciting Clashes Confirmed For Euro Cup and Challenger Cup Qualifiers - European Aquatics®". len.eu. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-10-07.

[5] "Women Club Ranking - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. October 1, 2024.

[6] "Women Clubs Country Ranking - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. October 1, 2024.

[7] "Women Country Ranking - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. October 1, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[a]

[a]

v t e LEN Challenger Cup and LEN Women's Challenger Cup
LEN Challenger Cup	2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
LEN Women's Challenger Cup	2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

v t e 2024–25 European club competitions
Football	Men Champions League Europa League Conference League Super Cup Youth League Women Champions League
Football variants	Futsal Champions League Women's European Champions Beach soccer Euro Winners Cup Women's Euro Winners Cup
Basketball	Men EuroLeague EuroCup Champions League FIBA Europe Cup Women EuroLeague EuroCup SuperCup
Volleyball	Men Champions League CEV Cup Challenge Cup Women Champions League CEV Cup Challenge Cup
Handball	Men Champions League European League European Cup Women Champions League European League European Cup
Water polo	Men Champions League Euro Cup Challenger Cup Super Cup Women Champions League Euro Cup Challenger Cup Super Cup
Rugby union	Men Champions Cup Challenge Cup Super Cup
Ice hockey	Men Champions Hockey League Continental Cup
Indoor hockey	Men EuroHockey Indoor Club Cup Women EuroHockey Indoor Club Cup
Field hockey	Men Euro Hockey League Trophy I Trophy II Women Euro Hockey League Trophy I Trophy II
Roller hockey	Men Champions League World Skate Europe Cup Continental Cup Women European League
Lacrosse	Men Ken Galluccio Cup
Floorball	Men Champions Cup Women Champions Cup
Korfball	Mixed Champions League Challenger Cup Satellite Cup

Format

Rankings

Teams

Schedule

Rounds and dates

Qualification round I

Draw

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Qualification round II

Draw

Group A

Group B

See also

References

External links