LONG ISLAND — The 1998 Goodwill Games water polo competition begins Monday and features four of the world’s top squads, including reigning Olympic and World Champion Spain and the World Cup Champion United States. Olympic bronze medallist Italy and defending Goodwill Games gold medallist Russia round out a field which will battle for a total purse of $50,000.

Competing against the best teams in the world is incentive enough, but the prize money sweetens the deal for members of Team USA. While Europe has a thriving professional water polo league, there is currently no professional structure for water polo athletes in the United States.

Many countries in Europe, including Spain, Italy and Russia have national leagues which consist of elite athletes. World powers Hungary, Greece, Yugoslavia and Croatia also have strong national leagues. Lucrative contract offers often lead to players leaving their home country to play in another league. According to team sources from Italy and Spain, the average national team player in those countries earns roughly $80,000 per year. United States Water Polo Executive Director Bruce Wigo estimates that members of Team USA receive $10,000 per year in support from the federation.

"The system in Europe is a club system, like their soccer leagues," Wigo said. "There are national champions who go on to compete in the Champions Cup and the Cup Winners Cup. They play lots of high-level games and are paid well for playing the sport."

Wigo has pushed for a professional league to start in the United States and hopes to have the groundwork laid out in the next year.

"We need to keep our elite athletes in our system, playing competitive games on a regular basis," Wigo said. "It will increase interest in our sport and will provide a monetary reward to players for their sacrifices."