BELGRADE, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- European Water Polo Championships started in Belgrade on Sunday at the Kombank Arena with 16 men's and 12 women's teams competing for direct qualification for the Olympic Games which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Water Polo Championships started with a match between Spain and Slovakia, and from January 10 to 23 exactly 100 matches will take place.
Serbian president Tomislav Nikolic, who is also the president of organizing committee of the competition, declared open the competition.
Nikolic said that Serbia is honored to be chosen by LEN (Ligue Europeene de Natation) to organize such a competition, and wished sportsmen to have a fair competition in which the best national teams will triumph.
The best teams at the competition yet to get a place in Rio will directly qualify while the next five highest-ranked sides in both genders can take part in the respective Olympic qualification tournaments in the spring.
President of LEN Paolo Barelli thanked the Serbian Government, the city of Belgrade, the Serbian Water Polo Federation and the Organizing Committee for the tremendous efforts offered to stage a really memorable competition.
"Within fifteen days two temporary pools were set up and all the necessary works were carried out on time to create a perfect environment, this is truly a miracle," Barelli said at the opening press conference on Sunday.
Kombank Arena in Belgrade was redecorated for the event - two swimming pools surfacing 1386 and 750 cubic meters of water were installed at this multipurpose indoor hall with the seating capacity of 11,000 spectators.
The organizers of the competition announced that these championships will have record attendance and will be the biggest sporting event in Serbia in 2016.