The jubilant images from Singapore—Spain’s men draping the national flag over a goal after winning World Championship gold, the women clutching bronze—might soon be tinged with bitterness.
Barely a week after the country’s water polo teams delivered another chapter of sporting glory, the clubs who underpin those triumphs have issued an extraordinary rebuke to Spain’s sporting authorities, accusing the Higher Sports Council (CSD) of “systematically failing” to honour its commitments.
In a statement released by all 16 clubs in the División de Honor, Spain’s top-flight competition, the governing body stands accused of abandoning the very model that has propelled the sport to the top of the global game.
“Since 2021, the CSD has publicly announced specific plans to support water polo, committing concrete financial aid,” the statement reads. “These commitments have only materialised in 2022 and 2024, remaining completely unfulfilled in 2023 and, unacceptably, also in 2025.”
The clubs are demanding the immediate restoration of promised funding and a long-term guarantee of at least €2.5m annually until 2028, warning that the start of the domestic season is now in “serious jeopardy”.
A model under threat
Spain’s water polo renaissance has been built on a carefully calibrated partnership between the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation (RFEN) and the clubs. Together they have orchestrated training camps, managed calendars, and nurtured national team players from youth to senior level. The clubs say that model cannot survive without sustained state backing.
“This institutional abandonment represents a frontal attack on the successful model that has taken Spanish water polo to the top of the international scene,” the statement continues. “Spanish sport needs institutions that are equal to its athletes. We will not accept any more excuses or empty promises.”
The timing of the intervention is pointed. As the echoes of victory in Singapore fade, political leaders are expected to bask in the reflected glory. “It’s more than likely in the coming days we’ll see the President of the Government or the CSD president welcoming the players,” said one senior club official. “It happens every time—capitalising on success is easy. Supporting it with real resources is what matters.”
The CSD response
The CSD has moved quickly to acknowledge the growing discontent, though its initial response has done little to quell the storm. In a letter to RFEN president Fernando Carpena, CSD chief José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes praised the achievements of both water polo and artistic swimming at the World Championships and insisted the body “fully shares the importance of strengthening collaboration between clubs and federations as a driver of professionalisation and stability”.
Uribes said the CSD had been “working for months” on measures to support team sports such as water polo, but offered no firm commitments on funding. “We will continue working to ensure Spanish water polo has the necessary tools to maintain its competitive level and international leadership,” he wrote.
Privately, Uribes is understood to have discussed the crisis with the head of a leading water polo club during a public appearance in Girona on Friday. Whether those conversations translate into action remains to be seen.
From gold to uncertainty
For a sport that has given Spain two Olympic titles and now a men’s world crown in the space of three years, the sense of déjà vu is striking. The clubs point out that their demands are not about bonuses or celebrations, but about sustaining a system that has produced serial international success despite modest resources.
“These achievements would not be possible without the efforts of the clubs, which—without public support—bear the burden of preparing and training the country’s best athletes,” the statement warns.
Behind the triumphs, Spanish water polo has long run on tight margins. Without immediate intervention, the clubs argue, the cost of neglect will not be measured in medals, but in the unravelling of a model that turned Spain into a powerhouse of the sport.
For now, the national flag still hangs proudly in the images from Singapore. But unless promises turn into euros, the glow of gold may fade into a stark reminder of what happens when sporting glory is celebrated, but not sustained.
The content and ideas explored in this article are attributed to the work of Tomas Campos, first published in Marca.
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