“6.25 Times Less”: Players and clubs protest prize money gap in European Aquatics announcement

The 2025/26 season should have marked a new chapter of growth for European water polo. Instead, a wave of frustration is building, led by some of the sport’s most decorated athletes and respected clubs. The source of the unrest? European Aquatics’ newly announced prize money allocations—praised by some, but fiercely condemned by many in the women’s game.

Under the new structure, funded by a landmark sponsorship agreement with Wood Nest Sports (WNS), the winner of the Men’s Champions League will receive €125,000—a massive increase from the previous €50,000 payout. Runners-up and third and fourth-place teams will also now receive monetary prizes. In the Men’s Euro Cup, the prize for the champions has been doubled, and the runners-up will also be rewarded financially.

For the women’s competitions, however, the changes are much less ambitious. The Women’s Champions League winners will receive just €20,000—a stark contrast to the men’s six-figure prize. Even more telling: the Women’s Euro Cup prize money remains unchanged, meaning zero euros, as this year’s winners received nothing at all.

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That means the top women’s Champions League prize is worth just 16% of the men’s equivalent—a 6.25x disparity—while Euro Cup champions on the women’s side still receive no financial reward for winning a European title.

Entry Fees: Another Broken Promise?

European Aquatics also claimed that entry fees would be lowered for all club competitions in 2025/26. However, multiple clubs involved in the Women’s Champions League have told Waterpolo360 that their entry fees have remained unchanged from previous seasons—undermining yet another promise of parity.

Outrage from Champions

One of the most forceful responses came from Club Natació Sabadell, the reigning Women’s Champions League winners and arguably the most successful women’s club team in the sport. In a public statement, the club called the proposal “regrettably and incomprehensibly unequal” and accused European Aquatics of making a “discriminatory decision.”

“We cannot understand how, at a time when society is moving towards equality and pay equity, Euroaquatics would adopt such a decision,” Sabadell wrote. “This shows a total lack of respect for the work that clubs like ours do in support of women’s sport, as well as for the effort and dedication shown by the female athletes themselves.”

Players Speak Out

Top athletes from across the water polo world have made their disappointment clear—some with sharp words, others with stunned silence.

Bea Ortiz, widely considered the best player in the world, struck a tone of defiance and unity:

“I choose to see the positive side of this sad and difficult news… We will continue to stand united—across all teams and countries—driven by the belief that we truly deserve the same treatment and opportunities that men receive. More female leadership, please.”

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Sabrina van der Sloot, Dutch national team captain and one of the most respected voices in the sport, didn’t hold back:

“Women’s sport is more booming than ever! Yet European Aquatics is choosing to devalue women’s effort at getting equal treatment by creating more gender inequality and making this prize money gap enormous!
Therefore giving a signal to all clubs that we should not be seen as equals—not even half equals of men’s athletes—and treated as such economically by clubs and national federations!
I’m disappointed in the all-male leadership (president/vice presidents) of this organisation.”

Olympic and World Championship stars added their voices:

• Maica García (Spain, Sabadell): “It’s a f… JOKE?”
• Paula Leiton (Spain, Sabadell): “It can’t be!”
• Abby Andrews (Australia, Olympiacos): “Tough to see”
• Belen Vosseberg (Germany, Catalunya): “Equality eh”
• Mia Rycraw (France, Olympiacos): “Love that for us”
• Laura Aarts (Netherlands): “How can the difference still be so big now that women’s sports are growing bigger than ever before in the world?”
• Tilly Kearns (Australia): “The ‘sport is a business, men get views’ argument is so baseless now. The grass is greener where you water it. The women’s side doesn’t get watered.”

Others—Paula Crespi, Christina Siouti, and Greek stars Vasiliki and Eleftheria Plevritou—posted silent but unmistakable protest emojis on social media.

A Step Forward—or Backward?

European Aquatics has framed the new financial model as progress, pointing to a total allocation of €435,000 in prize money and reduced entry fees. But for many, the core issue isn’t the size of the overall pot—it’s the principle of parity. And in the women’s competitions, the figures tell a different story.

“Any growth in the sport is welcome,” said one anonymous coach of a top-tier women’s team. “But this feels like two steps forward for the men’s game, and none for the women. We can’t celebrate progress that leaves half the athletes behind.”

The Bigger Picture

This controversy is unfolding against a global backdrop of growing momentum for pay equity in sport. From football to tennis to basketball, more and more federations are being held to account for gender-based financial discrepancies.

Water polo now finds itself in the spotlight—and under pressure.

As clubs and players organize to push for change, the message is clear: the women’s game deserves more than symbolic support. It deserves equal opportunity, equal recognition, and equal reward.

Whether European Aquatics will revisit its allocations remains to be seen—but what’s certain is that the athletes are no longer willing to stay silent.

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