Regional Water Polo League
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The Regional Water Polo League (abbr. RWP), commonly known as the Regional League or Adriatic League, is a temporarily suspended regional water polo league in Southeast Europe. Originally, the league featured clubs from Croatia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. In later years, clubs from Serbia joined the league and in one season club from Italy participated in the league. As of 2025–26 season, the league was suspended due to various reasons.
History
The league was established in 2008 as the "Adriatic Water Polo League" and the inaugural 2008–09 season consisted of clubs from Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia. Members of the inaugural season were Jug, Mladost, Primorje, POŠK, Jadran Split, Medveščak Zagreb, Šibenik, Mornar, Jadran, Primorac, Budva, and Koper. The first league champions were VK Jug.
In the 2009–10 season, Cattaro joined the league and the Final Four was introduced into the league. In the 2011–12 season, the Italian water polo club Pro Recco request to join the Adriatic League was granted and immediately in their first season they became champions, but left the league after the season. The Serbian clubs (Partizan, Crvena zvezda, Radnički and Vojvodina) joined the league in the 2014–15 season.
Starting from the 2015–16 season, second-tier Regional League A2 was introduced.
In February 2019, three team members of Serbian club Crvena zvezda were attacked in Split by Croatian ultra-nationalists, before regional league game against Mornar. The incident was condemned by Croatian and Serbian public, and by many organizations and officials as well. Following the incident, the Water Polo Federation of Serbia and Serbian clubs in competition sought to not play any further games in Split, and competition's Board of Directors made a decision to postpone any further games in Split in which Serbian clubs are included.
Starting with the 2020–21 season, the league is played in different format due to the COVID-19 pandemic, having two groups (2020–21 season with host cities being Belgrade and Dubrovnik, and 2021–22 season with host cities Belgrade and Split) and final tournament (2020–21 host being Zagreb, and 2021–22 host being Belgrade); In 2020–21 season, the Serbian club Radnički eventually won their first championship, thus ending 8-year dominance of the Croatian clubs. In 2021–22 season, the newcomer to the competition, Novi Beograd, lifted its maiden trophy.
In August 2025, it was decided that the 2025–26 season would not be played, due to various reasons.
Clubs
Clubs that participated in the 2024–25 season:
Regional Water Polo League
All-time participants
The following is a list of clubs who have played in the Regional Water Polo League at any time since its formation in 2008 to the current season. A total of 22 clubs from five countries have played in the top-tier of the Regional League.
| – | Played in second-tier division (established 2015–16) |
| 1st | Champions |
| 2nd | Runners-up |
| 3rd | Third place |
| SF | Semi-finalists |
| R | Regular season champions |
| Club | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | Total seasons | Highest finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slovenia Branik Maribor | — | — | — | — | — | 12th | 15th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 12th |
| Montenegro Budva | 5th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 4th | 6th | 11th | — | 7th | 9th | — | 8th | 12th | 13th | — | — | — | 12 | 4th |
| Montenegro Cattaro | — | 6th | 12th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 6th |
| Serbia Crvena zvezda | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8th | 10th | — | — | 7th | 5th | 5th | 6th | 6th | 5th | 10th | 9 | 5th |
| Croatia Jadran Split | 9th | 10th | 10th | 12th | 7th | 9th | 12th | — | 8th | SF | SF | SF | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 16 | 2nd |
| Montenegro Jadran Herceg Novi | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 5th | 8th | SF | 5th | SF | 2nd | SF | SF | SF | 6th | 5th | 8th | 4th | SFR | 17 | 1st |
| Croatia Jug | 1st | 2ndR | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1stR | 1stR | 1stR | 2nd | 2nd | 2ndR | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 8th | 17 | 1st |
| Slovenia Koper | 10th | 13th | 8th | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 8th |
| Croatia Medveščak | 11th | 11th | 9th | 9th | 10th | 10th | 14th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 9th |
| Croatia Mladost | 4th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | SF | SF | SF | 2nd | 1stR | 1stR | 4th | 9th | 5th | 9th | 5th | 17 | 1st |
| Croatia Mornar | 8th | 8th | 7th | 6th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 6th | 6th | 5th | 6th | 10th | — | 12th | 10th | 11th | — | 15 | 5th |
| Serbia Novi Beograd | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1stR | SFR | 1stR | SF | 4 | 1st |
| Serbia Partizan | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6th | 5th | SF | 6th | 9th | 9th | 10th | 7th | 9th | 12th | — | 10 | SF |
| Croatia POŠK | 12th | 12th | 13th | 8th | 6th | 8th | 10th | 9th | — | 7th | 10th | — | — | — | — | — | — | 10 | 6th |
| Montenegro Primorac | 3rd | 3rd | 6th | 10th | 9th | 7th | 13th | — | — | 8th | 8th | 6th | 9th | 8th | 12th | — | 7th | 14 | 3rd |
| Croatia Primorje | 7th | 7th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1stR | 2nd | 5th | 10th | — | — | 11th | — | — | 7th | 9th | 13 | 1st |
| Italy Pro Recco | — | — | — | 1st | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1st |
| Serbia Radnički | — | — | — | — | — | — | SF | 7th | — | — | — | — | 1st | 4th | SF | 6th | 1st | 7 | 1st |
| Croatia Solaris | 6th | 9th | 11th | 13th | 12th | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8th | 10th | 11th | 8th | 11th | 11 | 6th |
| Serbia Šabac | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5th | 7th | 7th | 11th | 7th | 10th | 6th | 7 | 5th |
| Slovenia Triglav Kranj | — | — | — | — | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 11th |
| Serbia Valis | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12th | 1 | 12th |
| Serbia Vojvodina | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9th | 8th | 9th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 8th |
Finals
note The league was played in a round-robin tournament format.
Awards
Records and statistics
Performance by clubs
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia Jug | 5 | 8 | 2008–09, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2022–23 | 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21 |
| Croatia Primorje | 3 | 2 | 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 | 2011–12, 2015–16 |
| Montenegro Jadran Herceg Novi | 2 | 2 | 2009–10, 2010–11 | 2008–09, 2016–17 |
| Croatia Mladost | 2 | 1 | 2018–19, 2019–20 | 2017–18 |
| Serbia Novi Beograd | 2 | 0 | 2021–22, 2023–24 | |
| Serbia Radnički | 2 | 0 | 2020–21, 2024–25 | |
| Italy Pro Recco | 1 | 0 | 2011–12 | |
| Croatia Jadran Split | 0 | 4 | 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25 |
By country
| Club / Nation | Won | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 10 | 15 |
| Serbia | 4 | 0 |
| Montenegro | 2 | 2 |
| Italy | 1 | 0 |
See also
- Euro Interliga[sr]
- VRL Water Polo League