04.10.2018, 03:00
New race for the trophy begins

PRESS RELEASE: The 26th season of the Women's EHF Champions League starts a new exciting journey towards Budapest

New race for the trophy begins

Just months after Györi Audi ETO KC clinched their fourth EHF Champions League title in another thrilling final match against Vardar, all fans of women’s handball are ready to witness the start of another season of the top-class club competition.

A plethora of stars will be back on court from Friday, 5 October as Europe’s premier club handball competition returns for the 26th edition.

Their aim remains the same: a place at the highpoint of the season, Women’s EHF FINAL4, which take place once again in Budapest on 11/12 May 2019. Commenting on the start of the new season, EHF President Michael Wiederer said: “We’ve seen strong growth in the Women’s EHF Champions League over a number of years.

“Media interest continues to increase and the development of the Women’s EHF FINAL4 has been hugely successful.

“We can be certain that the new season will bring further positive progress in what has become one of the most-followed club competitions in women’s sport.”

16 clubs from 11 countries on the starting grid

Five countries – Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary and Norway – are represented by two teams each in the competition. There is just one brand new team in the competition, Denmark’s Odense HC, while three other sides – Sweden’s IK Sävehof, Croatia’s Podravka Vegeta and Kobenhavn Handball from Denmark – are returning to the European top-flight after a break.

The defending champions, Györi Audi ETO KC, will start in Group C alongside the German champions Thüringer HC and two other former EHF Champions League winners RK Krim Mercator and Podravka, the Croatian side having reached the group phase via the qualification tournaments.

The second qualifier, SG BBM Bietigheim, is in Group D together with 2016 winners CSM Bucuresti, brand new Norwegian champions Vipers Kristiansand and FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria.

Ambros Martin, who steered Györ to four EHF Champions League titles in the last six seasons, will begin a new era on the Rostov bench in Group B; their opponents will be Kobenhavn, Sävehof and Brest. The French side has big ambitions this season having signed several new players including the charismatic Swede, Bella Gullden.

In Group A, the 2012 and 2015 winners Buducnost will lock horns with Metz, Odense and Larvik, where the most open race for the main round berths can be expected.

Growing TV interest

A total of 24 stations covering more than 50 territories have also been confirmed ahead of the new season for the group phase. With more stations yet to be announced as the competition progresses, the 2018/19 season already looks set to reach new heights in terms of TV coverage.

All matches will be offered live worldwide on ehfTV.com, where additional features and the weekly Magazine will be also available for the handball fans around.

Tickets for the Women’s EHF FINAL4 on sale from 5 October

As the first whistle of the new season will be blown at the group matches opener in Bucharest (CSM vs FTC) on Friday 5 October at 5:30 pm CET, the first batch of tickets for the season’s climax – the Women’s EHF FINAL4 2019 will go on sale.

Fans looking to make the trip to Budapest on 11/12 May 2019 will be able to buy their tickets via the event’s ticket shop at ehfCL.com
 
Where to watch?

Handball fans will be able to follow the action on TV stations worldwide, on the EHF’s own OTT streaming platform ehfTV.com as well as on the official website ehfCL.com and social media channels including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The current list of TV stations can be found below and weekly updates are available at ehfcl.com

TV Partners broadcasting the Women’s EHF Champions League 2018/19 (as of 04/10/2018)

BIH – Arenasport
CAN – beIN Sports
CRO – HRT and Arenasport
CZE – SportTV
DEN – DR and TV3 Denmark
FRA –beIN Sports (including Monaco, Andorra, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Madagascar and French overseas territories)
GER – mdr.de
GEO – Silknet
HUN – Sport TV
ISL – Sport TV
KOS (Kosovo) - RTV21
MENA Region – beIN Sports (23 terrritories in total)
MKD – Arenasport
MNE – RTCG, Arenasport
NOR – NENT Group
POL – NC+ and Eleven Sports
ROU – Digi Sport, Telekom Sports
RUS – Match TV
SLO – Sport TV
SRB – Arenasport
SVK – Sport TV
SWE - NENT Group
USA – beIN Sports (including US territories and possessions)
Worldwide - ehfTV.com (geo-restrictions could apply)

TEXT: EHF / br, jjr