In total 22 teams from 16 countries are vying for a place in the EHF Champions League Men 2021/22 after they all submitted their application before the deadline last week.

But this was just the first step towards the final roster of clubs for the new season. Registration of clubs does not equal participation, and the final list of all participants will only be confirmed by the EHF Executive Committee and announced on Tuesday 29 June.

After the big reform of the EHF club competitions‘ system last year, the 2021/22 season will again be played in a format with only 16 teams divided in two groups of eight.

10 teams with fixed places

Based on the EHF ranking list the teams from top nine countries have been registered as national champions and have fixed places in the new season.

According to the regulations Germany as the national federation ranked first in the EHF European League Seeding List 2021/22 will be the only country with two fixed places and although there are still two rounds to be played in the German bundesliga to determine the new domestic champions it is safe to say already now that both rivals THW Kiel and SG Flensburg-Handewitt will claim these two positions.

The participation of these ten teams is now only subject of an approval by the EHF EXEC.

12 requests for an upgrade

In addition, 12 clubs eligible to enter the EHF European League have submitted their requests for a Champions League upgrade via their national federations.

What’s next

On Friday 25 June the EHF Champions League Evaluation Group will grade the clubs which request an upgrade based on several different criteria (venue, TV, spectators, results in past EHF competitions, product management and digital) and prepare recommendations for the following EXEC, which will confirm the teams for the remaining six positions on the starting grid.

The final list of the teams for the new season will then be announced on Tuesday 29 June.

Draw dates confirmed

The group phase draw will be held on Friday 2 July in Vienna and will be streamed live on the EHF digital channels.

Teams with fixed places (10)
CRO - HC PPD Zagreb
DEN - Aalborg Håndbold
ESP - Barça
FRA - Paris St. Germain Handball
GER - THW Kiel
GER - SG Flensburg-Handewitt
HUN - MOL-PICK Szeged
MKD - HC Vardar 1961
POL - Lomza Vive Kielce
POR - FC Porto

Upgrade requests (12)
BLR - HC Meshkov Brest
DEN - GOG Handbold
FRA - Montpellier HB
HUN - Telekom Veszprém HC
NOR - Elverum Handball
POL - Orlen Wisla Plock
POR - Sporting CP
ROU - CS Dinamo Bucuresti
SLO - RK Gorenje Velenje
SUI - Kadetten Schaffhausen
SWE - IK Sävehof
UKR - HC Motor