01.12.2015, 03:40
EHF Cup Group phase draw step-by-step

NEWS REPORT: The EHF Cup Group Phase draw will be streamed live on ehfTV.com. The fact that 16 teams come from only nine countries requires a bit more complex procedure

EHF Cup Group phase draw step-by-step

Not only fans of sixteen teams vying for the vacant Men’s EHF Cup throne will be able to watch the group phase draw live on www.ehfTV.com

The 16 sides qualified for the group phase will be drawn into four groups of four teams on Thursday 3 December at 11:00 hrs in Vienna.

Besides the coverage on the world’s biggest handball streaming platform there will be also a detailed live coverage of the event available.

The live ticker will be provided on www.eurohandball.com and social media fans will also be able to follow the drawing of lots via live tweeting on @ehf.

Only three pots to be drawn

The sixteen group phase teams come from only nine countries with France and Denmark having three teams each, while Germany, Spain and Romania are all represented by two teams.

Therefore the measures had to be taken to prevent two or more teams from the same country to land in the same group.

Helvetia Anaitasuna from Pot 2 will be drawn before the remaining teams of Pot 2 and avoid the group with Fraikin BM Granollers, while the same procedure will be applied for HBC Nantes in Pot 3, who have to avoid the group with Chambery Savoie Handball.

The Pot 4 teams will not be drawn at all as they will be one-by-one allocated according to the seeding list in the first possible group starting from Group A to Group D.

The same mechanism has been already adopted many times in the Women’s EHF Champions League Group Matches Draw before.

Draw procedure:
Step 1: 4 teams of Pot 1 are drawn to Row 1
Step 2: Anaitasuna drawn to Row 2 to avoid the group with Granollers
Step 3: Remaining three teams of Pot 2 are drawn to Row 2
Step 4: Nantes drawn to Row 3 to avoid the group with Chambery
Step 5: Remaining 3 teams of Pot 3 are drawn to row 3
Step 6: 4 teams of Pot 4 in the following order: Göppingen, Aalborg, CSM Bucuresti and St. Raphael (based on the seeding list) are one-by-one allocated to the first possible group starting from Group A to Group D

No previous winners, nine newcomers

Only seven participants in the group phase have a previous experience with this stage of the Men's EHF Cup since its merging with the Cup Winners' Cup in 2012/13.

Denmark's Team Tvis Holstebro, Spain's Fraikin BM Granollers and Pfadi Winterthur from Switzerland made it back again after their last year's appearances.

Chambery Savoie Handball from France return after one-year absence as they played in the group phase as well as their fellow French team HBC Nantes, who also played in the inaugural season together with Holstebro and the two German teams Frisch Auf Göppingen and the 2002 EHF Champions League winners SC Magdeburg, who both are back in the European second-tier after three years.

Group Phase schedule
Round 1 – 13/14 February 2016
Round 2 – 20/21 February 2016
Round 3 – 27/28 February 2016
Round 4 – 5/6 March 2016
Round 5 – 19/20 March 2016
Round 6 – 26/27 March 2016

TEXT: EHF / br