Former champions avoid a direct clash in the qualification

Two former EHF Champions League winners in the 2017/18 season will not meet already in the qualification group after the draw at the EHF Office in Vienna has sent the record winners Hypo Niederösterreich to Group 2, while the 1995/96 trophy holders Podravka Vegeta have ended up in Group 1.

Howvever, this hardly makes their way to a former glory much easier as they both have to face formidable opponents in the group.

Croatian record champions Podravka face the Turkish team Kastamonu Belediyesi, while Norwegian runners-up Vipers Kristiansand take on Belarusian champions HC Gomel in the Group 1 semi-finals.

In Group 2 the Austrian perennial champions Hypo encounter the brand new team reigning in Sweden, H 65 Höörs HK, while the second team from the German bundesliga Thüringer HC will play against Mecalia Atletico Guardes from Spain.

The draw also decided that Kristiansand and Thüringer have the first right to organise the qualification tournaments on the second September weekend (8-10 September). The hosts can decide on which two days in that span the matches will be played.

Hosting rights draw:

1 Row 1 (Vipers, Thüringer HC)
2 Row 3 (Kastamonu, Hypo)
3 Row 2 (Podravka, Höörs)
4 Row 4 (Gomel, Atletico)

Only the two winners of the qualification tournaments will reach the group matches, which will be drawn on Friday 30 June at the Ljubljana Castle.