26.04.2017, 10:20
Draw at the heart of Cologne

NEWS REPORT: The Steigenberger hotel will be the new location for the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2017 draw.

Draw at the heart of Cologne

One month before the Opening Party of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2017 in front of the LANXESS arena, the semi-final pairings will be determined on 2 May in Cologne.

After the draw took place in Palais Flora in 2015 and in The View in 2016 the event is moving to another location right at the heart of Cologne as the Steigenberger hotel will host the final draw of the 2016/17 club season. The heritage-protected building with its cozy atmosphere will be the right place for this event.

The Draw

Commencing at 12:00 hrs, Anett Sattler, one of the hosts of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in the beginning of June, will present and guide through the draw. Besides the drawing of the lots, the new Salming merchandise will be presented. As a special guest Henriette Reker, mayor of Cologne, will attend the draw.

All four teams will be drawn from the same pot and the draw will be completely open, which means that two teams from the same country or from the same group of the group phase can play against each other in the semi-final.

Fans will have the possibility to follow the draw on different EHF channels. The event will be streamed live on ehfTV.com, on the youtube channel ehfTV as well as on the EHF Champions League Facebook page.

Playing times for the VELUX EHF FINAL4 have been already set and they stick the a tradition of the previous years as on both days the matches will be at 15:15 hrs and 18:00 hrs local time.

All remaining teams can make their way to the VELUX EHF FINAL4

Before all eyes focus on the draw, the quarter-finals‘ return legs are going to be intense. No team got a comfortable position after the first leg. The first particpant for the VELUX EHF FINAL4 will already be found on Thursday, when HC Vardar will try to make the best out of their 26:24 away-win against SG Flensburg-Handewitt.

On Saturday the clashes between THW Kiel and FC Barcelona Lassa as well as Paris Saint-Germain Handball and Szeged will follow. Kiel travel to Barcelona with a 28:26 home win, while Paris play in front of their home crowd, trying to defend their three-goal away win (30:27). The last participant will be found on Sunday, when Montpellier host Veszprém, trying to turn around their 26:23 away loss. 

TEXT: EHF / si