Record high demand for the jubilee season

The upcoming jubilee 25th season of the VELUX EHF Champions League is bound to become record-breaking in many aspects.

There are still almost three months to the opening throw-off of the new season, but the first record has been already overcome. In total record high 43 teams from 26 countries are vying for a place in the VELUX EHF Champions League 2017/18.

Since the adoption of the current registration system two years ago 37 clubs registered on both occasions.Registration of clubs does not equal the participation and the final list of all participants will only be confirmed at the EHF Executive Committee meeting on Saturday 24 June in Zagreb.

The confirmation by the EHF EXEC is based on an evaluation of the registered clubs divided into eight different criteria (venue, TV, ranking in the domestic league, spectators, performance in past EHF club competitions, sponsoring potential, implementation of duties and regulations and media).

Based on the EHF ranking list 24 teams (22 national champions and the runners-up of Germany and Hungary) have handed in their registrations.
In addition, 19 clubs eligible to enter the EHF Cup have submitted their requests for the Champions League upgrade via their national federations.

Only five national champions have decided not to register this season (BEL, CZE, GRE, ISL, SRB).

The draw of the qualification tournament(s) will take place on Thursday 29 June in Vienna, while the group phase draw will be held in Ljubljana on Friday 30 June.

The VELUX EHF Champions League 2017/18 will be played in the same mode as the previous two seasons with 28 teams of the group phase split in four groups. In Group A and B there will be eight teams each, while each in Group C and D only six teams will play.

Teams registered based on the EHF Ranking list (24):
AUT    Alpla HC Hard
BLR    HC Meshkov Brest
CRO    PPD Zagreb
DEN    Aalborg Handbold
ESP    FC Barcelona Lassa
FIN    Cocks
FRA    Paris Saint Germain
GER    Rhein-Neckar Löwen
GER    SG Flensburg Handewitt
HUN    Telekom Veszprem
HUN    MOL-Pick Szeged
MKD    HC Vardar
NOR    Elverum
NED    OCI/Lions
POL    KS Vive Tauron Kielce
POR    Sporting CP
ROU    CS Dinamo Bucuresti
RUS    Chekhovskie medvedi
SLO    RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko
SUI    Kadetten Schaffhausen
SVK    TATRAN Presov
SWE    IFK Kristianstad
TUR    Besiktas MOGAZ HT
UKR    HC "Motor"

Requests for additional Places from Nations with at least one place in the CL (15)                                                            
BLR    SKA-Minsk
CRO    RK Nexe
DEN    Skjern Handbold
DEN    Bjerringbro-Silkeborg
ESP    Ademar de Leon
ESP    CBM Ciudad de Logrono
FRA    HBC Nantes
FRA    Montpellier HB
GER    THW Kiel
HUN    Grundfos Tatabanya
MKD    HC Metalurg
POR    FC Porto
POL    Orlen Wisla Plock
ROU    CSM Bucuresti
SLO    RK Gorenje Velenje

Requests from Federations without a place in the CL (4)                        
EST    Pölva Serviti
ISR    Maccabi Srugo Rishon Lezion
LTU    Dragunas Klaipeda
LUX    HB Esch