In both competitions, nine teams had a fixed place. The remaining seven places were awarded via upgrades, taking into consideration factors such as ‘venue’, ‘TV’, ‘spectators’, ‘past results in EHF competitions’ and ‘product management and digital’ according to regulations.
These factors were evaluated earlier for all teams which had requested upgrades to the EHF Champions League.
Machineseeker EHF Champions League
With the summary of the evaluation at hand, the EXEC confirmed upgrades for the following six teams in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League (in alphabetic order by country):
- HC Zagreb (Croatia)
- HBC Nantes (France)
- OTP Bank-Pick Szeged (Hungary)
- HC Eurofarm Pelister (North Macedonia)
- Industria Kielce (Poland)
- Dinamo Bucuresti (Romania)
They will join the nine teams with a fixed place in the competition: Aalborg Håndbold (Denmark), Barça (Spain), Paris Saint-Germain Handball (France), SC Magdeburg, Füchse Berlin (both Germany), Veszprém HC (Hungary), Kolstad Håndball (Norway), Orlen Wisla Plock (Poland), and Sporting CP (Portugal).
In the case of Fredericia Håndbold Klub, the Danish team was awarded with a wild card for the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2024/25.
The general possibility to award one place with a wild card instead of via the existing criteria catalogue was confirmed by the EXEC in March 2023.
Upgrade requests from the following clubs were not approved: Elverum Håndball (Norway), FC Porto (Portugal), Tatran Presov (Slovakia), Bidasoa Irun (Spain), and Kadetten Schaffhausen (Switzerland).
The five teams whose upgrade requests have been rejected have a place in the EHF European League Men, respectively the EHF European Cup next season.
EHF Champions League Women
In the EHF Champions League Women, upgrade requests from the following teams have been confirmed:
- HC Podravka Vegeta (Croatia)
- Odense Håndbold (Denmark)
- Brest Bretagne Handball (France)
- Györi Audi ETO KC (Hungary)
- Storhamar Handball Elite (Norway)
- CS Gloria 2018 BN (Romania)
- CS Rapid Bucuresti (Romania)
Teams with a fixed place are: Team Esbjerg, Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub (both Denmark), Metz Handball (France), HB Ludwigsburg (Germany)*, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (Hungary), Buducnost BEMAX (Montenegro), Vipers Kristiansand (Norway), CSM Bucuresti (Romania), and Krim Mercator Ljubljana (Slovenia).
The upgrade requests from BV Borussia Dortmund (Germany), DVSC Schaeffler (Hungary) and Sola HK (Norway) were not confirmed. The clubs subsequently have a place in the EHF European League Women.
Next steps
The draw for the men’s and women’s EHF Champions League will take place on 27 June at 17:30 CEST in Vienna. For both competitions, the participating teams will be drawn to two groups of eight.
The first playing day for the EHF Champions League Women is the weekend of 7-8 September 2024. The men’s teams will play their first matches on 11-12 September 2024.
*HB Ludwigsburg is the new club name of German national champions and EHF FINAL4 Women 2024 participants, SG BBM Bietigheim.
Photo © EHF/kolektiff
