Built specifically for the 1968 Olympic aquatics competitions, Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez was the site of the water polo events in Mexico City, as well as swimming, diving, and swimming section of the modern pentathlon. It was an indoor facility, as in 1964, which had been the first Olympic swimming competition held indoors.
There were 15 entered teams, with two preliminary round-robin pools, one with seven teams and one with eight. The top two teams in each pool then advanced to a semi-final single-elimination round. The lower placed teams in the preliminary pools entered classification matches and the final round consisted of single round placement matches. Australia had qualified to compete but the Australian Olympic Federation did not think they had a chance and elected not to pay for them to travel to Mexico City. The players paid their own way, however, but they were not allowed to compete.
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