EHF Champions League
| Upcoming season or competition: Current sports event 2025–26 EHF Champions League | |
| File:EHF Champions League Logo 2020.svg | |
| Sport | Handball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1956 |
| No. of teams | 16 (Group phase) |
| Country | EHF members |
| Confederation | EHF (Europe) |
| Most recent champions |  SC Magdeburg(5th title) |
| Most titles |  FC Barcelona(12 titles) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Official website | ehfcl.eurohandball.com |
The EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the men's competition is the EHF Champions League Men.
The EHF coefficient rank decides which teams have access and in which stage they enter.
Eligibility and qualifying
Each year, the EHF publishes a ranking list of its member federations. The first 9 nations are automatically permitted to participate in the tournament with their national champion.[1] The national federation ranked first place in the EHF European League, currently Germany,[2] is awarded a second qualification berth for the domestic runner-up.[3] The remaining six positions are designated through wildcards, with each national federation without two teams already qualified able to submit a single applicant.[3] The wildcards are judged on five criteria: venue, TV, spectators, results in past EHF competitions and product management and digital.[3]
Tournament format
Current
Each year, the EHF publishes a ranking list of its member federations. The first nine nations are allowed to participate in the tournament with their national champion. In addition, the tenth spot is reserved for the best ranked national federation of the EHF European League Men. The national federations are allowed to request upgrades for their teams eligible to play in the EHF European League and based on the criteria list the EHF Executive Committee approves six upgrades.
The EHF Champions League is divided into four stages. All participating teams enter the competition in the group phase.
The current playing system has been introduced before the 2020/21 season.
Since the 2020/21 season, the format sees two groups formed, with eight teams each in Group A and B. All the teams in each group play each other twice, in home and away matches (14 rounds in total). The first two teams in Groups A and B advance directly to the quarter-finals, while teams from positions three to six in each of these groups proceed to the playoff. The season is over for the last two teams in each group after the completion of the group phase. The pairings for the playoff are decided by the placement of the teams at the end of the group phase (A6 vs B3, B6 vs A3, A5 vs B4 and B5 vs A4). Each pairing is decided via a home and away format, with the aggregate winners over the two legs advancing to the quarter-finals. The higher ranked teams in the group phase have the home right advantage in the second leg. The pairings for the quarter-finals are also decided by the placement in the group phase (Winner of A5/B4 vs A1, Winner B5/A4 vs B1, Winner A6/B3 vs A2, Winner B6/A3 vs B2). The ties are decided through a home and away format, with the four winners over the two legs played in each pairing advancing to the EHF FINAL4. The higher ranked teams in the group phase have the home right advantage in the second leg. The official name for the men's EHF FINAL4 is the EHF FINAL4 Men. The participating EHF FINAL4 teams are paired for the semifinals through a draw and play the last two matches of the season over a single weekend at one venue. The two semi-finals are played on a Saturday, with the third-place game and final on a Sunday.
New format (2026–)
The new format will see 24 teams being split into six groups of four teams. The two top-placed teams advance to the main round, which conists of two groups of six, where the top four-placed teams advance to the quarterfinals.[4]
Brand Sound
Much like the visual brand identity, the brand sound identity will acoustically connect the various leagues and tournaments which fit under the EHF umbrella. For the EHF Brand Sound, the authors got to the core of "The Sound of Handball" and created a handball sound DNA as the recurring element across all audio-visual applications. The jump shot was identified as the most iconic and defining handball movement.
Through video analysis and motion tracking, the jump shot was extracted into a rhythmic design pattern. There are numerous application opportunities of the brand sound, which will be developed over time. First implementations of the new EHF Brand Sound will be heard in the EHF Champions League. The premium character of this tournament was translated into a modern sound design through a new EHF Champions League sound logo and anthem. Both will come to life in the arena and will consistently complement all audio-visual communications.
The previous anthem for the EHF Champions League is "Hymn of the Champions", used until the end of the 2019/20 season and exclusively written by Austrian film composer Roman Kariolou in 2007. The recording played during the entry ceremony before every game was performed by the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Hernando.[5]
Winners
Notes:
Bold : Aggregate
Bold-italic : Winner's goals
Records and statistics
Winning clubs
Performance by country (1957-2024)
| Rank | Country | Winners | Runners-up | Semi-finals | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain
|
18
|
13
|
20
|
51
|
| 2 | Germany
|
18
|
11
|
27
|
56
|
| 3 | File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union [A] | 5
|
3
|
4
|
12
|
| 4 | File:Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg Yugoslavia [B] | 4
|
7
|
6
|
17
|
| 5 | File:Flag of East Germany.svg East Germany | 4
|
2
|
3
|
9
|
| 6 | File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania | 3
|
3
|
7
|
13
|
| 7 | File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia [C] | 3
|
2
|
6
|
11
|
| 8 | Error creating thumbnail: Croatia | 2
|
4
|
1
|
7
|
| 9 |  France
|
2
|
2
|
13
|
17
|
| 10 |  North Macedonia
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
| 11 |  Hungary
|
1
|
5
|
9
|
15
|
| 12 | File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland | 1
|
5
|
3
|
9
|
| 13 |  Sweden
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
5
|
| 14 | Error creating thumbnail: Slovenia | 1
|
0
|
7
|
8
|
| 15 |  Denmark
|
0
|
4
|
11
|
15
|
| 16 | Error creating thumbnail: Switzerland | 0
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
| 17 | File:Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland | 0
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
| 18 |  Portugal
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
| 19 |  Norway
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
| 20 | Error creating thumbnail: Austria | 0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
| 21 | Error creating thumbnail: Russia | 0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
| 22 |  Turkey
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
| Total | 65 | 65 | 130 | 260 | |
- Since 2009–10 EHF Champions League have Third Place Match.
Notes
- A Results until the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Three out of five titles were won by clubs from present day Belarus, while two titles and the additional three times runners-up were achieved by clubs from present day Russia.
- B Results until the Breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Clubs from present day Serbia won the title two times and were runners-up additional two times, clubs from present day Croatia won the title once and were runners-up three times, clubs from present day Bosnia and Herzegovina won the title once and were runners-up once, while clubs from present day Slovenia were runners-up one time.
- C Results until the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993. Three titles and two times runners-up were all achieved by HC Dukla Prague.
Goals scored in the Final Four by nations
All the goals (3805) scored in the Final Four by the nationality of the players.
- Last updated after the 2024/25 season.
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Coaches with most titles
| Coach | Titles | Clubs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| # | List | ||
| Valero Rivera |
6 | 1 | Barcelona 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 |
| Talant Dujshebaev |
4 | 2 | Ciudad Real 2006, 2008, 2009, Kielce 2016 |
| Xavier Pascual |
3 | 1 | Barcelona 2011, 2015, 2021 |
| Iceland Alfreð Gíslason | 3 | 2 | Magdeburg 2002, Kiel 2010, 2012 |
| Error creating thumbnail: Spartak Mironovitch | 3 | 1 | SKA Minsk 1987, 1989, 1990 |
* Horst Dreischang won titles with Gummersbach in 1967 and 1970. He was Gummersbach's coach until 29 January 1971, just after 1st game of Champions League 1/4 finals, which Gummersbach won with 11 goals lead. Gummersbach won the title that year.[27][28]
As Player and Coach combined
| Player/Coach | Titles | as Player | as Coach | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | List | # | List | ||
| Carlos Ortega |
8 | 6 | Barcelona 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005 | 2 | Barcelona 2022, 2024 |
| Talant Dujshebaev |
6 | 2 | CSKA Moscow 1988, Teka Santander 1994 | 4 | Ciudad Real 2006, 2008, 2009, Kielce 2016 |
| Roberto García Parrondo |
3 | 2 | Ciudad Real 2008, 2009 | 1 | Vardar 2019 |
| Czech Republic Filip Jicha | 3 | 2 | THW Kiel 2010, 2012 | 1 | THW Kiel 2020 |
| Bennet Wiegert |
3 | 1 | SC Magdeburg 2002 | 2 | SC Magdeburg 2023, 2025 |
Prize money
In addition to the sporting prestige of winning the EHF Champions League, the competition also provides financial rewards for participating clubs. For the EHF FINAL4, the European Handball Federation (EHF) allocates a total prize fund of €750,000: the winners receive €300,000, the runners-up €225,000, while the third- and fourth-placed teams obtain €150,000 and €75,000 respectively.[29]
Clubs also receive income throughout the competition. During the group stage, each participating team earns €10,000 per match played, as well as an additional €5,000 for every point won. The first two teams in each group are awarded a further €20,000 qualification bonus for direct entry into the quarter-finals. In the play-offs and quarter-finals, teams continue to receive €10,000 per match, with bonuses between €6,000 and €7,000 per point depending on the stage.[30]
As a result, the overall revenues can be significant. In the 2024–25 season, for example, Füchse Berlin (runners-up) earned around €540,000, HBC Nantes approximately €455,000 after finishing third, and FC Barcelona about €379,000 following their semi-final exit. The 2025 champions, SC Magdeburg, received €300,000 for the title and became eligible for an additional prize of up to €300,000 by participating in the IHF Super Globe in Saudi Arabia in November 2025.[31]
Sponsorship
See also
References
- ^ "EHF releases place distribution for 2021/22 European club competitions".
- ^ "22 clubs vying for a place in the new EHF Champions League Men season".
- ^ a b c "REGULATIONS EHF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MEN SEASON 2021/22" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 July 2021.
- ^ "EHF EXEC confirms: Champions League with 24 teams, new system for European League". eurohandball.com. 21 October 2025.
- ^ eurohandball.com Hymn of the Champions[permanent dead link]
- ^ Kiril Lazarov
- ^ https://ehfcl.eurohandball.com/men/2024-25/news/en/kiril-lazarov-retires-his-legacy-stays-forever/
- ^ Timur Dibirov
- ^ Nikola Karabatić
- ^ Mikkel Hansen
- ^ Momir Ilić
- ^ Marko Vujin
- ^ Alex Dujshebaev
- ^ Ivan Čupić
- ^ Siarhei Rutenka
- ^ László Nagy
- ^ Niclas Ekberg
- ^ Kamil Syprzak
- ^ Zlatko Horvat
- ^ Domagoj Duvnjak
- ^ Víctor Tomás
- ^ Uwe Gensheimer
- ^ Nedim Remili
- ^ Dika Mem
- ^ Jonas Källman
- ^ Igor Karačić
- ^ "Leseprobe – VFL Gummersbach. Die Chronik by Verlag die Werkstatt - Issuu". 19 November 2015.
- ^ "Men Handball European Champions Cup 1971 Winner VFL Gummersbach (FRG)". Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
- ^ Source: EHF, "Ligue des Champions : combien rapporte réellement une victoire ?", consulté en septembre 2025.
- ^ Source: EHF, "Ligue des Champions : combien rapporte réellement une victoire ?", consulté en septembre 2025.
- ^ Source: EHF, "Ligue des Champions : combien rapporte réellement une victoire ?", consulté en septembre 2025.
- ^ "EHF and EHF Marketing strike four-year deal with hummel". www.eurohandball.com. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
External links
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- EHF Champions League
- European Handball Federation club competitions
- Recurring sporting events established in 1956
- Multi-national sports leagues