Tenerife Pitched to Host 2027 Water Polo Olympic Qualifier

Fernando Carpena, president of the Spanish Swimming Federation, has announced in El Día his wish for Tenerife's Puerto de la Cruz Aquatic Sports Center to host the 2027 World Cup. This event would be the first qualifying competition for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Carpena explained his personal connection to Tenerife: "For a few years now, my son came to live here, and due to personal reasons, I visit from time to time. I'm registered here, so I have a connection. I come as much as possible, of course, balancing it with my duties at the Federation. I spend less time in Tenerife than I'd like."

He recounted how his involvement with the center began: "I met Juan Carlos through organizing the Copa del Rey in Acidalio in 2019. He then introduced me to Carlos Alonso and their project. From there, I started looking into it. Marrero and Lope Afonso were the ones who pushed for the reconstruction and renovation of that facility. They made a very good decision: 'Let's stop doing shoddy work and build a proper facility.' I've helped, but the most important part is how it started. Then there's the ongoing effort. We've always been adding value to this, always."

He elaborated on what "adding value" means: "To give you an idea, it means having world championship-standard starting blocks here while local citizens are swimming. The facility's main purpose is to serve the community, but it can also be used for many other things: club training, local, national, and international competitions. As president of the Federation, I've done my part by seeing this opportunity and pushing it forward. And I'm not finished, because now we need to fill it with events. This place needs to be full of swimmers – promising aquatic athletes using this facility."

Carpena highlighted the center's quality: "This facility is top-notch. World championships are held with these starting blocks, these lane ropes, and the depth of this facility is suitable for artistic swimming world championships. We provided advice on all of that. There's always been a great connection, and experts from my Federation have logically advised them on technical matters."

He stressed the need for the facility to balance daily use with major events: "It also has to be compatible with daily use, and that depends on the ownership, which is the Cabildo. I loved the expression used by the Vice President of the Cabildo, Lope, when he said we need to 'associate.' And we will associate. Associating means our national teams can train here, attracting many things, including other athletes. We can bring events. Of course, the Canarian Federation here must have a fundamental role in development and technical training. It offers many possibilities."

The president also emphasized the global exposure the event would bring: "Firstly, it's about informing at least the 20 participating countries – seven from Europe, five from America, four from Asia, two from Africa, and two from Oceania. But it's more than that; the World Aquatics website, which is the global federation, will be publishing about Puerto de la Cruz. That website is visited in 206 countries. Federations from almost every country in the world are there. It will be fantastic for publicity."

He explained the significance of the proposed 2027 World Cup: "We propose this event as a test run because we want to bring the World Cup Superfinal to Tenerife in 2027. That is the first official competition that qualifies for the Olympic Games. The winners of that tournament, both men and women, automatically qualify for the Olympics. Of course, many countries will want to host it, and Spain wants to too. We have the Men's European Championship in Belgrade and then the Women's European Championship in Madeira. I wanted to bring that one here, but it didn't work out. This means that until summer, there are no relevant competitions except the World Cup. Therefore, all countries will go all out to try to qualify. And if you play at home, much better."

Carpena believes Spain has a strong chance: "Yes, of course, Spain always has options. Look, we are going to hold a junior world championship now, but then it's the World Cup. To give you an idea, the World Cup is like holding the Olympic Games finals concentrated into one week. What does that mean? Well, we have to make a bigger leap. We have to create a stage, which is an investment; it's no longer just about having it set up and putting up some banners. Now LED screens are used a lot; you need good hotels, you need warm-up pools, which are not too many here, and we have to find them. In fact, we have some ideas with the Cabildo to see if they can open some half-closed pool somewhere to support us, because the 16 strongest teams in the world are coming to qualify for the games."

He also noted the appeal of an outdoor event: "There's a recent trend to do almost everything indoors, but doing it outdoors is very striking, especially if you offer a suitable setting. We need to look at it; the current stands alone are not enough; we need to add a second one in front. Instead of stands for 1,500 people, as now, we would have to create a kind of amphitheater. Good television, good lighting. We have that. And we have a chance, for sure."