Armenia lacrosse teams learn opponents for European Sixes Championships

Armenia’s men’s and women’s national lacrosse teams have learned their group-stage opponents for the 2026 European Sixes Lacrosse Championships. The tournament will be held in Salou, Spain, in November and will mark the first official stage of Armenia’s qualification pathway toward the 2028 Olympic Games.

The Armenian women’s team will compete from November 2 to 9. Armenia has been drawn in Group C alongside Czechia, Germany, Spain and Croatia.

A total of 19 teams will take part in the women’s competition, divided into four groups. For Armenia, this will be the team’s first European tournament carrying World Championship qualification stakes.

Armenia has already faced one of its future group opponents. At the 2025 Heritage Cup in the United States, the Armenian women defeated Germany 10-6 and finished the tournament with three wins from five games.

The men’s European Championship will take place from November 10 to 18. Armenia has been drawn in Group A with Great Britain, Latvia, Poland, Spain and Türkiye.

Twenty-three teams will compete in the men’s tournament. Great Britain entered the draw as one of the seeded teams from Pot 1.

Armenia heads into the European Championship with encouraging experience in the sixes format. In 2025, the national team finished third at the EuroLax Sixes Cup in Portugal. Armenia won four of its five round-robin games, including a victory over Switzerland White, which later finished as tournament runner-up.

The main objective for both Armenian teams in Spain will be to finish inside the top five. The five best men’s and five best women’s teams will qualify for the 2027 World Lacrosse Sixes Championships.

The World Championship will be held in Colorado Springs in October 2027 and will serve as the main qualifying event for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Five Olympic places in both the men’s and women’s competitions will be awarded there, while the final berths will be decided at an additional qualifying tournament in 2028.

Therefore, no Olympic spots will be awarded directly at the European Championship in Spain. However, a successful performance will allow Armenia to continue its bid to reach the Olympic Games.

The sixes format of lacrosse will be used at the 2028 Olympics. Six players from each team are on the field at the same time, matches consist of four eight-minute quarters and teams have a 30-second shot clock.

For Armenia’s men’s and women’s national teams, the European Championship in November will be the first official step on the Olympic road to Los Angeles.