A 14-strong Great Britain Senior Men’s Water Polo squad has been named for the forthcoming European Qualification Tournament in Kranji, Slovenia.
Head Coach Tim Dunsbee, alongside Assistant Coach Ian MacCullum and Team Manager Terri Halstead, have selected a group mixed with experience, skill and promising young talent that will be looking to secure their spot at next year’s Championships.
The squad contains five of the players that helped the team to tenth at the World Cup Water Polo World Cup in December, including Kameron Powell, Jordan Elliot and Tom Manley.
Drawn in Group A – one of four groups in the qualification phase – Great Britain will face the Netherlands, Poland, Czechia, and hosts Slovenia over three days in the countries third-largest city.
A top-two finish is required to advance to the finals, with the leading teams from each group forming Division Two of the European Championships, set to take place in Serbia in January 2026.
Success in Slovenia would see the men’s team join the women’s squad at the major event, following their historic qualification in 2024.
Despite a challenging group, the squad has been training intensively to prepare for the task ahead. A 13-11 victory over Sweden in an international friendly during an overseas training camp was followed up with testing fixtures against Ukraine (8-20 loss), Slovakia (7-20 loss), Slovenia (8-16 loss) and Israel (8-14 loss) at the Danube Cup in Slovakia as part of their final preparations.
Commenting on the team's European Aquatics Qualification Round preparations following the Danube Cub, Head Coach Tim Dunsbee said: “It’s been a tough tournament with some hard-fought games, but we’ve seen clear improvement with each match. This is a young squad still finding its feet and the progress so far is encouraging. We’re building something and looking forward to taking the next step in Slovenia next week.”
Live streaming of matches is reported to be available through EuroAquaticsTV.com, with the full schedule and results available on the Microplus website.
Aquatics GB team for European Championships Qualification Tournament (8th-10th June 2025):
- Ben Alderson, Sedgefield
- Harry Bentham, Concordia University Irvine/City of Manchester
- James Blenkinship, City of Manchester
- Corran Bradley, Sheffield
- Arthur Davies, Cheltenham
- Callum Eccles, City of Sheffield
- Jordan Elliot, City of Manchester
- Thomas Hunt, Cheltenham
- Thomas Manley, City of Manchester
- Rory Nesbitt, Caledonia/Dunfermline
- Dan Paddon, City of Manchester
- Lloyd Pittick, Welsh Wanderers
- Kameron Powell, Exeter
- George Wood, Worthing
Team staff:
- Tim Dunsbee, Head Coach
- Ian MacCallum, Assistant Coach
- Terri Halstead, Team manager