Naturally, there are now fears that such a drop in funding for the national teams will have a ripple effect across the whole sport.
However, key figures from both the new men’s and women’s national club champions believe the sport can still have a bright future.
Coach James Ross, whose Cheltenham side won the British Championships last weekend, told BBC Sport: “I think there is hope for the sport.
“The standard of our club-level game is improving, which gives you the opportunity to pull through more quality players.
“We have seen a real increase in participation at our after-schools club in Cheltenham and I think, across the board, the participation levels have increased with the extra focus on the sport during the Olympics.”
After a tense victory on penalties against Manchester in last weekend’s final, Ross’s team have qualified for water polo’s premier European club competition, where they will face more illustrious opponents, including the 2013 winners VK Crvena Zvezda – a fully professional Serbian outfit.
“We’re excited and, at the same time, there’s a lot of work to do now,” the coach said.