Champions League (EU) 2026/27

The EHF Champions League stands as the premier European club handball competition. Organized by the European Handball Federation (EHF), it sits at the top of the continental pyramid, positioned above the European League and the European Cup. The tournament was established in 1993 for the 1993–94 season, replacing the European Champions Cup which had run under the International Handball Federation (IHF) since 1956. The EHF, created in 1991, centralized the event under its own governance.

Qualification relies on the EHF’s annual federation ranking and domestic results. The top nine federations automatically send their national champions. The first-ranked federation in the European League receives an additional berth for its runner-up. Up to six teams may be upgraded from the European League or awarded wildcards based on venue standards, TV coverage, and commercial potential. A distinct feature separates this competition from football’s UEFA tournaments: there is no mid-season promotion or relegation between tiers, nor a ‘drop-down’ mechanism. Teams eliminated from the Champions League do not transfer to the European League; the competitions operate as parallel tracks based on pre-season qualification.

The format for the 2024–25 season involves 16 teams split into two groups of eight. Participants play a double round-robin within their group. The top two teams from each group advance directly to the quarter-finals. Those finishing third to sixth enter a playoff round played as two-legged home-and-away ties. The four playoff winners join the four group winners in the quarter-finals. The four quarter-final victors then advance to the EHF FINAL4, a single-venue, single-match knockout tournament featuring semi-finals and a final.

FC Barcelona is the most successful club in the competition’s history, having won 13 titles. This includes victories in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2011, 2015, 2021, 2022, and 2024. SC Magdeburg holds five titles, while VfL Gummersbach also has five, all won before the EHF era under the IHF. THW Kiel has four titles. The current defending champion is FC Barcelona, who won the 2024–25 title. SC Magdeburg won the 2023–24 title.