24 teams start in Machineseeker EHF Champions League; eight-team increase

IHF | A new format sees 24 teams line up at the start of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League

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A new format sees 24 teams line up at the start of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League

A new season of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League will throw off on Wednesday, 9 September, with a new format and an eight-team increase.

The competition will see 24 teams line up at the start, with six groups of four teams each in the preliminary round. The teams that finish first and second in the six groups advance to the main round, while the third and fourth-ranked teams continue in the EHF European League Men.

Six former champions – title holders FC Barcelona, HC Vardar 1961, RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko, Industria Kielce, Montpellier Handball and SC Magdeburg – will line up at the start, alongside several powerhouses, like Füchse Berlin, One Veszprém HC or Paris Saint-Germain, all in the mix for the title over the last decade.

Barcelona, the reigning champions and the current IHF Men’s Club World Championship title holders, will start their campaign in Group E, alongside Montpellier Handball, CS Dinamo București and SAH Aarhus, in a well-balanced group, where surprises can happen.

Winners in 2023 and 2025, German champions SC Magdeburg have a primetime derby with Industria Kielce in Group F, while Norwegian champions Kolstad Handball and HC Kriens-Luzern will complete the group. The Swiss side, coached by legendary centre back Andy Schmid, make their debut in the European premium competition.

By far, the toughest group will be Group A, where the winners of the 2024 IHF Men’s Club world Championship, One Veszprém HC, are due to face Füchse Berlin, FC Porto and RK Partizan AdmiralBet.

Veszprém are still looking for their maiden title in the competition and have a ready-made team to challenge for the trophy, but will face the best player in the world in the last three years, Füchse’s Mathias Gidsel, as well as a plucky side in FC Porto.

The Hungarian champions have also moved on the transfer market and brought in goalkeeper Emil Nielsen, the All-Star shot stopper at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, from Barcelona.

Serbian champions RK Partizan AdmiralBet are returning after a 13-year hiatus, and have Raul Gonzalez as a coach, as the former Vardar and PSG mastermind took over last year and is aiming for a good result.

Group B also will provide plenty of drama, as HBC Nantes aim to return to the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 after finishing third in the 2024

25 season. Nantes will, however, have a strong challenge from German side MT Melsungen, the winner of the EHF European League Men in the previous season, as well as Polish side Orlen Wisla Plock and HC Vardar 1961, which are returning in the European premium competition after a five-year hiatus.

In Group C, Aalborg Håndbold face PSG, HC Zagreb and another returning side in RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko, while Group D sees Sporting CP take on OTP Bank – PICK Szeged, GOG and IFK Kristianstad.

The group phase will take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays, starting from 9 and 10 September, until 28 and 29 October.

The main round will start on 18

19 November 2026, and will finish on 3

4 March 2027. The top four sides in each main round group are due to qualify for the quarter-finals, which will be played in a doubleheader, with the first leg scheduled for 24 and 25 March 2027, with the second one on 31 March and 1 April 2027.

The TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 is scheduled in Cologne for 12 and 13 June 2027. 2026

27 Machineseeker EHF Champions League - group phase

Group A: One Veszprém HC (HUN), Füchse Berlin (GER), FC Porto (POR), RK Partizan AdmiralBet (SRB)

Group B: HBC Nantes (FRA), MT Melsungen (GER), Orlen Wisla Plock (POL), HC Vardar 1961 (MKD)

Group C: Aalborg Håndbold (DEN), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), HC Zagreb (CRO), RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko (SLO)

Group D: Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR), OTP Bank – PICK Szeged (HUN), GOG (DEN), IFK Kristianstad (SWE)

Group E: Barça (ESP), Montpellier Handball (FRA), CS Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU), SAH Aarhus (DEN)

Group F: SC Magdeburg (GER), Industria Kielce (POL), Kolstad Handball (NOR), HC Kriens-Luzern (SUI) Photo credit: EHF

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