21.03.2018, 07:50
Trondheim the place for biggest EHF EURO draw

NEWS: For the first time 32 teams will participate in the Men's EHF EURO 2020 Qualifiers, with the eight qualification groups being drawn in Trondheim on 12 April

Trondheim the place for biggest EHF EURO draw

The Norwegian city of Trondheim will host the biggest EHF EURO qualification draw to date on 12 April 2018.

With the decision to stage the Men's EHF EURO 2020 with 24 teams for the first time, it means that 32 teams, more than ever before, will participate in the EHF EURO 2020 Qualifiers, starting in October this year and concluding in June 2019.

According to the men's national team ranking, the teams have been seeded in the following pots for the qualification draw

Pot 1: France, Croatia, Germany, Denmark, Slovenia, Belarus, Hungary, FYR Macedonia

Pot 2: Russia, Czech Republic, Poland, Iceland, Serbia, Montenegro as well Bosnia-Herzegovina, Netherlands, Portugal (equally ranked teams).

Pot 3: Latvia, Lithuania, Switzerland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Israel, Turkey

Pot 4: Finland, Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Romania, Italy, Kosovo, Faroe Islands

In a first step at the draw, two of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Netherlands and Portugal will be drawn to pot 2 and one will be drawn to pot 3. Then the teams will be drawn to eight groups of four teams each.

The top-two teams of each group as well as the best four third-ranked teams will qualify for the Men's EHF EURO 2020 in Sweden, Austria and Norway. Spain as EHF EURO 2018 champions are, besides the three hosts, also directly qualified. At the same time up to four of the lowest ranked fourt-placed teams will be relegated to the first qualification phase of the Men's EHF EURO 2024.

The draw will be streamed live on the EHF EURO Youtube channel and the EHF EURO Facebook page.

Dates for Men's EHF EURO 2020 Qualifiers

• Round 1 & 2: 24 - 28 October 2018
• Round 3 & 4: 10 - 14 April 2019
• Round 5 & 6: 12 - 16 June 2019

Downloads

Draw procedure

Men's national team ranking

About EHF EURO 2020

The Men’s EHF EURO 2020 will be played from 10 to 26 January 2020. It is the first to be played with 24 teams and the first to be hosted by three nations. Sweden will organise two preliminary  and one main round group plus the final weekend at the EHF EURO 2020. Venues chosen are Gothenburg’s Scandinavium, the Malmö Arena and the Tele 2 Arena in Stockholm (final weekend only), a 20,000+ capacity stadium. Austria will host two preliminary round groups and one main round group in the Vienna Stadthalle and the Graz Messe Arena. The new Trondheim Arena, which is currently under construction and will seat 8,000 people, is the venue for the two preliminary round groups played in Norway.

TEXT: EHF / ts