Thirteen nations, a continental title and valuable ranking points towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games – that’s what awaits Europe’s top mixed teams in Belgrade.
The Senior Mixed Team European Judo Championships are coming to Belgrade, Serbia, on Saturday 7 November 2026.
Defending champions Georgia arrive with a major target on their backs, having won three of the seven European mixed team titles contested since the format was introduced in 2018. France, Germany and Russia are the other former champions in the draw, while hosts Serbia will be looking to make home advantage count in front of their supporters.
The championship also forms part of the ranking pathway towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, with points earned in Belgrade also contributing to qualification for the 2027 European Games in Istanbul.
Following the championships, Belgrade will also host an OTC training camp.
If you’re short on time, here are the basics:
Date: Saturday, 7 November 2026Venue: Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade, SerbiaPreliminary rounds: 09:30 CETFinal block: 16:00 CETParticipating nations: 13 (Austria, Belarus, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine)Athlete entries: Official IJF athlete list
Georgia has been the most successful nation in the history of the European Mixed Team Championships, winning gold in 2021, 2023 and 2025, and silver in 2024. Their latest win came in Podgorica last year, where they defeated Italy in the final, with Germany and Russia taking bronze.
France sit second in the historical standings, having won the title in 2022 and 2024, while Germany, the first-ever champions in 2018, have been incredibly consistent with one gold, one silver and three bronze medals.
Russia won the title in 2019, and their return to the draw can shake things up at any turn.
Host nation Serbia had their breakthrough moment with a bronze at the 2024 European Championships.
France arrive with an impeccable record in 2026
While Georgia hold the senior European crown, France have dominated the mixed team championships across the younger age groups this year. The French have won all three European mixed team titles contested so far in 2026, at cadet, junior and U23 level.
Their cadets retained the European title in Gran Canaria in July, overcoming Ukraine in the final. In September, the juniors followed suit in Podgorica, defeating Russia 4-3 in a dramatic final that required an additional golden score fight.
The most recent success came only six days before Belgrade, at the U23 European Championships in Naples. France defeated Georgia 4-3, reversing the result of their 2025 final.
A third senior European mixed team gold would put France level with Georgia’s current record, while a fourth title for Georgia would extend their lead at the top of the historical standings.
World champions and Olympic medallists on the tatami
Georgia’s squad contains some of the most accomplished athletes in the competition. Olympic champion and three-time Olympic medallist Lasha Shavdatuashvili brings experience at -73 kg, while world champions Luka Maisuradze and Eteri Liparteliani strengthen the -90 kg and -57 kg categories respectively. Heavyweight Guram Tushishvili, another former world champion, adds considerable strength to the Georgian line-up.
For the hosts, former world champion Nemanja Majdov will be among the main attractions. Competing at -90 kg, Majdov is joined by world medallist Marica Perišić, Aleksandra Andrić and Boris Rutović in a Serbian team that can build on its historic bronze medal from 2024.
France arrive with a strong squad featuring Léa Fontaine, Célia Cancan and Astride Gneto, alongside Eliot Prève, who helped secure France’s U23 European mixed team victory last weekend.
Russia also bring a dominant selection, including 2025 world champion Timur Arbuzov, who has moved up from -81 kg to -90 kg.
The draw: four pools, thirteen teams
The draw has divided the competing nations into four pools, with Georgia, Russia and Germany receiving first-round byes.
Pool A: Georgia, Hungary, Belarus
Pool B: Italy, Serbia, France, Romania
Pool C: Russia, Austria, Ukraine
Pool D: Germany, Türkiye, Greece
How the mixed team competition works
Each national team fields three women and three men across six weight categories:
Women
Men
-57 kg-73 kg-70 kg-90 kg+70 kg+90 kg
Teams may register up to 12 athletes, with two in each category, allowing coaches to select between athletes during the competition.
The first team to secure four contest victories wins the match. If the score reaches 3:3, a random draw selects one weight category for a deciding golden score contest. The starting weight category rotates between rounds, meaning coaches must prepare their athletes for different contest orders throughout the day.
Belgrade’s place in European judo history
The Serbian capital has a long history of hosting major international judo events. It hosted the World Championships in 1989, the European Team Championships in 2006 and the individual European Championships in 2007.
More recently, Belgrade welcomed the European Club Championships in 2016, the Champions League men’s and women’s competitions in 2023 and the Champions League mixed team event in November 2025.
This will be the third occasion on which Serbia has hosted the European Team Championships, following Novi Sad in 1986, when the country was part of Yugoslavia, and Belgrade in 2006.
The European team championship tradition dates back to 1973, when the first men’s competition was held in Madrid. Separate men’s and women’s team competitions subsequently formed part of the European programme before the introduction of the mixed team format in 2018, the same year that the discipline joined the Olympic programme.
Belgrade 2026 will be the 51st European team championship overall and the eighth contested in the mixed team format.
Olympic qualification raises the stakes in Belgrade
The European Judo Union and International Judo Federation have agreed on the allocation of World Ranking List points for the upcoming European senior mixed team events during the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic qualification period.
Points earned at these Belgrade championships will carry 50% of their value in the final ranking before the Olympic Games.
The European Games in Istanbul on 20 June 2027 will also offer ranking points, counting at 100% in the final pre-Olympic ranking. A total of 22 teams, including the host nation, will qualify for Istanbul.