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2026–27 EHF European League

European club handball tournament From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2026–27 EHF European League will be the 46th season of Europe's secondary club handball tournament organised by European Handball Federation (EHF), and the 7th season since it was renamed from the EHF Cup to the EHF European League.

SportHandball
DateGroup stage:
29 September – 2 December 2026
Knockout stage:
9 February – 28 April 2027
Final Four:
22–23 May 2027
Tournament
format(s)
Round Robin and Knockout stage
WebsiteEHF European League
Quick facts Tournament information, Sport ...
EHF European League
2026–27
The EHF Finals will be played at the Barclays Arena in Hamburg, Germany.
Tournament information
SportHandball
DateGroup stage:
29 September – 2 December 2026
Knockout stage:
9 February – 28 April 2027
Final Four:
22–23 May 2027
Tournament
format(s)
Round Robin and Knockout stage
WebsiteEHF European League
← 2025–26
2027–28 →
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Format

The tournament will see a new format as follows:[1]

  • Group Stage: 32 teams will be split into eight groups of four teams and play a round-robin with home and away matches. The top 2 teams in each group will progress to the play-offs. Teams from the same country can't be drawn into the same group.
  • Play-offs: The 16 group winners and runners-up will be joined by the 12 teams that finished third and fourth in the group phase of the EHF Champions League, and play in 14 different home and away matches. The winners will advance to the Last 16.
  • Last 16: The 14 winners from the play-offs will be joined by two more teams that finished fifth in the Champions League main round and will play in 8 different home and away ties. The winners will progress to the quarterfinals.
  • Quarter-finals: The 8 winners of the Last 16 will play a knockout system to determine who makes it to the European League finals.
  • EL finals: They will be played in a Final 4 format similar to the Champions League.

Rankings

The rankings are based on the performances of each club from a respective country from a three-year period.

  • Associations 1–2 can have four clubs qualify.
  • Associations 3–5 can have three clubs qualify.
  • Associations 6–11 can have two clubs qualify.
  • Associations 12–18 can have one club qualify.
  • Associations below the top 18 are allowed to enter apply one club for a potential wildcard.
More information Rank, Association ...
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Ranking facts

More information Biggest rise, Pos ...
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More information Biggest fall, Pos ...
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More information New entries ...
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More information Entries leaving ...
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Qualified teams

The full list of teams qualified for each stage of the 2026–27 EHF European League was announced on 17 July 2026.[3][4][5]

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:

  • CW: Cup winners
  • CR: Cup runners-up
  • 1st, ..., 5th: League position of the previous season
More information Group stage ...
Group stage
Germany SG Flensburg-Handewitt (3rd) Germany VfL Gummersbach (4th) Germany Bergischer HC (13th, CR) France Limoges Handball (4th)
France Chambéry SMB HB (5th) France Saint-Raphaël Var Handball (6th) Portugal SL Benfica (3rd, CR) Portugal Águas Santas (4th)
Portugal Madeira Andebol SAD (5th) Spain BM Logroño La Rioja (2nd) Spain Fraikin BM Granollers (3rd) Spain Irudek Bidasoa Irún (4th, CR)
Spain Bathco BM Torrelavega (5th) Denmark TTH Holstebro (4th)[A] Denmark Mors-Thy Håndbold (6th)[A] Switzerland Kadetten Schaffhausen (2nd, CW)
Sweden Hammarby IF (3rd)[B] Sweden IK Sävehof (6th)[B] Croatia MRK Sesvete (2nd) Croatia RK Nexe (3rd, CR[6])
Romania HC Buzău (2nd) Romania CSM București (3rd) Iceland Valur (1st) Iceland FH Hafnarfjordur (2nd)
Hungary MOL Tatabánya KC (3rd, CR) North Macedonia HC Eurofarm Pelister (2nd) Poland PGE Wybrzeże Gdańsk (3rd, CR) Slovakia Tatran Prešov (1st, CW)
Slovenia RD LL Grosist Slovan (2nd) Norway Elverum Håndball (3rd) Bosnia and Herzegovina HC Izviđač (1st) Czech Republic HCB Karviná (1st)
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Round and draw dates

Schedule

More information Phase, Round ...
PhaseRoundDraw dateRound date[7]
Group stageMatchday 117 July 202629 September 2026
Matchday 26 October 2026
Matchday 313 October 2026
Matchday 417 November 2026
Matchday 524 November 2026
Matchday 61 December 2026
Play offsFirst legTBD9 February 2027
Second leg23 February 2027
Last 16First leg23 March 2027
Second leg30 March 2027
QuarterfinalsFirst leg20 April 2027
Second leg27 April 2027
Final fourSemi-finals22 May 2027
Final and Third place game23 May 2027
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Group stage

Main article: 2026–27 EHF European League group stage
Location of teams of the 2025–26 EHF European League group stage
Brown: Group A; Red: Group B; Orange: Group C; Yellow: Group D;
Green: Group E; Blue: Group F; Purple: Group G; Pink: Group H

The draw for the group stage was conducted on 17 July 2026 at the EHF office in Vienna.

In the group stage, teams were ranked according to points (2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). After completion of the group stage, if two or more teams have scored the same number of points, the ranking will be determined as follows:

More information Tiebreakers ...
Tiebreakers
  1. Highest number of points in matches between the teams directly involved;
  2. Superior goal difference in matches between the teams directly involved;
  3. Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams directly involved;
  4. Superior goal difference in all matches of the group;
  5. Highest number of plus goals in all matches of the group;
  6. Drawing of Lots
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Group A

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification NEX ELV SRA HAM
1 Croatia RK Nexe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Play-offs — – – –
2 Norway Elverum Håndball 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3 France Saint-Raphaël Var Handball 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4 Sweden Hammarby IF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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First match(es) will be played: 29 September 2026. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group B

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BID LIM FHH MAD
1 Spain Irudek Bidasoa Irún 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Play-offs — – – –
2 France Limoges Handball 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3 Iceland FH Hafnarfjordur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4 Portugal Madeira Andebol SAD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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First match(es) will be played: 30 September 2026. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group C

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RKI KAD CHA BUC
1 Bosnia and Herzegovina RK Izviđač 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Play-offs — – – –
2 Switzerland Kadetten Schaffhausen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3 France Chambéry SMB HB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4 Romania CSM București 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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First match(es) will be played: 29 September 2026. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group D

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification IKS TAT SEV BER
1 Sweden IK Sävehof 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Play-offs — – – –
2 Slovakia Tatran Prešov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3 Croatia MRK Sesvete 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4 Germany Bergischer HC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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First match(es) will be played: 29 September 2026. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group E

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification FLE GRA BUZ AGU
1 Germany SG Flensburg-Handewitt 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Play-offs — – – –
2 Spain Fraikin BM Granollers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3 Romania HC Buzău 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4 Portugal Águas Santas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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First match(es) will be played: 29 September 2026. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group F

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BEN KAR TOR HOL
1 Portugal SL Benfica 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Play-offs — – – –
2 Czech Republic HCB Karviná 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3 Spain Bathco BM Torrelavega 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4 Denmark TTH Holstebro 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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First match(es) will be played: 29 September 2026. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group G

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PEL GUM LOG GDA
1 North Macedonia HC Eurofarm Pelister 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Play-offs — – – –
2 Germany VfL Gummersbach 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3 Spain BM Logroño La Rioja 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4 Poland PGE Wybrzeże Gdańsk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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First match(es) will be played: 29 September 2026. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group H

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TKC VAL SLO MOR
1 Hungary MOL Tatabánya KC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Play-offs — – – –
2 Iceland Valur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3 Slovenia RD LL Grosist Slovan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4 Denmark Mors-Thy Håndbold 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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First match(es) will be played: 29 September 2026. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Knockout stage

In the play-offs, sixteen teams ranked 1st and 2nd from the group stage, along with the twelve teams that finished third and fourth in the Champions League group stage, will play against each other in home-and-away matches.

The fourteen winning teams will then be joined by the two teams that finished fifth in the Champions League main round for another round of home-and-away matches to advance to the Quarterfinals.

The four Quarterfinal winners will qualify for the Final Four tournament.

Final Four

The Final Four tournament will be held at the Barclays Arena in Hamburg, Germany.

Bracket

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
22 May
 
 
 
 
23 May
 
 
 
 
 
22 May
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Third place
 
 
23 May
 
 
 
 
 
 

Notes

  1. [A]
    To decide Denmark's representatives, the regular season standings are used.
  2. [B]
    To decide Sweden's representatives, the regular season standings are used.

See also

References

External links

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