Water Polo Australia welcomes new FINA World Championships dates set for 2022

Overnight FINA announced new dates for the World Championships, initially scheduled for 2021, to now take place from 13-29 May 2022 in Fukuoka, Japan.

With the 2020 Olympic Games postponed until 2021, FINA consulted with organisers, athletes, coaches, TV partners and host Federation Japan, to look at alternative dates.

Water Polo Australia Head Coaches Elvis Fatovic (men) and Predrag Milhailvic (women) have welcomed the decision from FINA, which provides further certainty for their planning.

Fatovic said having a World Championships a year after the Olympic Games was a decision Australia supported.

“Everything is now pushed a year, the Olympics and World Championships, which makes sense,” said Fatovic.

“The World Championships (2017) after the Rio Olympics, we had nine new players come into our squad and after Tokyo we would expect to have some young interesting players coming into the mix again.

“Having the World Championships a year after the Olympic Games gives us time to prepare the squad. In saying that, our projections for post Tokyo shows we are looking to have a very competitive squad.

“May is earlier than previously thought, but that is okay for Australia because we can adjust our calendars. The European teams may struggle more due to their club competitions,” he said.

Mihailovic echoed Fatovic's comments, saying FINA’s decision will allow his teams to prepare more effectively without having to consider different scenarios.

“The uncertainty until now meant we were having to look at different scenarios… now we have a decision, we can put the right plans in place,” said Mihailovic.

“Having the World Championships a year after the Olympics will allow all countries time to have a competitive World Championships. You want every country to have quality teams at a World Championships and the good preparation time.

“We don’t know what this will mean for other international events, like (FINA) World Leagues, during that year which are important competitions especially for Australia… but we will look at that when further decisions are made,” he said.

The FINA World Championships will be held from 13-29 May 2022 in Fukuoka, Japan. The FINA World Masters Championships will take place across the island of Kyushu (JPN), from 31 May -June 9, 2022.

Official statement from FINA: http://fina.org/news/pr-18-fina-confirms-new-dates-fina-world-championships-fukuoka-jpn