Draw promises exciting group phase in women’s top flight
The 16 teams competing in the EHF Champions League Women 2024/25 know their opponents for the group phase. The draw in Vienna on Thursday (27 June) set up the two eight-team groups, with play scheduled to start on 7/8 September 2024.
Current titleholders Györi Audi ETO KC are set to meet the team again they beat in the 2023/24 final in Budapest earlier this month – HB Ludwigsburg, who were previously competing as SG BBM Bietigheim.
Also in group B are last season’s EHF FINAL4 participants Team Esbjerg as well as three-time champions Vipers Kristiansand, who lifted the trophy in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Slovenian side Krim Mercator Ljubljana were drawn to group A, where EHF FINAL4 2024 participants Metz Handball, 2023 finalists FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, and 2016 champions CSM Bucuresti are among the opponents.
EHF Champions League Women 2024/25 group phase
GROUP A:
FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN)
Metz Handball (FRA)
CSM Bucuresti (ROU)
Krim Mercator Ljubljana (SLO)
Storhamar Handball Elite (NOR)
Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub (DEN)
HC Podravka Vegeta (CRO)
CS Gloria 2018 BN (ROU)
GROUP B:
Vipers Kristiansand (NOR)
Team Esbjerg (DEN)
Buducnost BEMAX (MNE)
HB Ludwigsburg (GER)
Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN)
Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA)
Rapid Bucuresti (ROU)
Odense Håndbold (DEN)
Prior to the draw, the 16 teams had been allocated over four pots. The country protection rule applied and avoided national derbies in the group phase between the two teams from Hungary, France, and Norway, respectively.
However, since Denmark and Romania have three participants each, it was inevitable that two teams from those countries ended up in the same group – with CS Gloria 2018 BN playing CSM Bucuresti in group A and Odense Håndbold meeting Team Esbjerg in group B.
The group phase contains 14 rounds between 7/8 September 2024 and 22/23 February 2025. The match schedule with playing dates and throw-off times will be announced in due time.
In the unchanged competition format, the top two teams in the final standings of each group qualify for the quarter-finals directly; the teams ranked third through sixth advance to the play-offs, where the remaining four quarter-final spots are at stake; and the two lowest-ranked teams go out of the competition.
photo © Anze Malovrh / kolektiff
