With the participation of eight national teams, the men’s water polo World League European qualifiers will be played in Debrecen on January 8-10, 2020. The sporting event is held behind closed gates in safe conditions. The mayor of the city and the president of the Hungarian Water Polo Association gave a briefing on the details.
Due to the epidemic situation, the international federation modified the announcement of the men’s World League: eight teams from the group round had previously advanced to one location, the so-called play quarterfinals and placeholders in a bubble. The competition was organized by the Hungarian Water Polo Association, and the venue will be the Debrecen Sports Swimming Pool. At the press conference before the weekend tournament, László Papp emphasized that Debrecen has proven several times that it can organize high-quality world competitions. The city’s infrastructure is suitable for this, and the Debrecen Sports Center provides the organizational background. The mayor added that more than 200 athletes, sports professionals and officials will come to the city, they will stay in hotels in Debrecen, which is especially important in the epidemic situation.
Attila Vári, president of the Hungarian Water Polo Association, spoke about the fact that those who come to the tournament can only come into contact with each other, and they are constantly tested so that the teams can play in a “sterile” environment. In connection with the performance of the Hungarian national team, the two-time Olympic champion said that Tamás Märcz’s team has not played a match since March last year, so the tournament is of particular importance six months before the Olympics.
Photo: János Miskolczi
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