The 34th edition of the EHF Champions League Women, the premium European club competition, will throw off this weekend, with 16 teams at the start, including four of the last five winners.

One debutant – German champions HSG Blomberg-Lippe – will join 15 other sides which have already taken part multiple times in the competition, including reigning champions Metz Handball and former title holders like Györi Audi ETO KC, RK Krim OTP Group Mercator, OTP Group Buducnost, HC Podravka and CSM București.

Like in the previous seasons, the 16 participating teams have been divided into two groups of eight teams each, played in a home and away round-robin format, which will see the top two sides in each group sealing their quarter-finals tickets.

Teams ranked third to sixth will advance to the play-offs, where the four winners will also qualify for the quarter-finals. The title will be decided at the EHF FINAL4 in Budapest, scheduled for 29 and 30 May 2027.

Last season’s finalists – winner Metz Handball and silver medallists Györi Audi ETO KC – have been drawn in the same group, which also contains several powerhouses, like Odense Håndbold and Romanian champions CS Gloria Bistrița.

Danish side Nykøbing Falster Håndbold, Norwegian champions Storhamar HE, Croatian champions HC Podravka and HSG Blomberg-Lippe complete a group which has two big favourites, with Odense ready to take advantage of every mistake.

Metz, who won their maiden title in the previous season, have seen a vast exodus from the title-winning side, as goalkeeper Johanna Bundsen, left backs Xenia Smits and Tyra Axner, centre back Grace Zaadi and the All-Star line player of the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, Sarah Bouktit, left the team.

Metz brought some experienced stalwarts like goalkeeper Gabriela Moreschi, left back Kristina Jørgensen, as well as two pivots – Lilou Pintat and Lyndie Tchaptchet – but the French side, which lost the domestic title last season ahead of Brest Bretagne Handball, will need time to gel.

Perennial contenders Györ brought in left back Thale Rushfeldt Deila and Bouktit from two of their opponents – Odense and Metz – and will once again compete for the title, as they retained most of their core.

Odense have also been busy on the transfer market and boosted their team tremendously, with Smits and Bundsen coming from Metz, but arguably the most intriguing transfer this season was Odense signing Anna Vyakhireva, the MVP of the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, from Brest.

In Group A, the battle for the top four places will still be as fiery as it ever had been, with Danish champions Team Esbjerg, French champions Brest Bretagne Handball, and runners-up in the Hungarian league, FTC Toyota Kovacs, and Romanian league, CSM București, all aiming for the top two places.

Esbjerg brought in Julie Scaglione from Ikast and experienced Norwegian goalkeeper Silje Solberg-Østhassel, but lost seven players, including centre back Michala Møller and goalkeeper Anna Kristensen, who both made their way to FTC.

The Hungarian side was active and boosted their squad with centre back Elizabeth Omoregie from CSM București and line player Lysa Tchaptchet, while CSM rebuilt their squad by ushering in Tyra Axner from Metz, centre back Daria Dmitrieva from FTC, three new goalkeepers in Denisa Șandru, Yuliya Dumanska and Catherine Gabriel, as well as left back Csenge Kuczora.

RK Krim OTP Group Mercator, Borussia Dortmund, Sola HK and OTP Group Buducnost complete Group A, with three Danish sides, two teams from France, Hungary, Romania, Norway and Germany, plus one team from Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia respectively completing the line-up.

The group phase will run between 5 September and 20/21 February 2027, with the play-offs scheduled for 20/21 March and 27/28 March.

The quarter-finals of this season’s EHF Champions League Women will run on 24/25 April and 1/2 May, while the EHF FINAL4 is due to be played in Budapest on 29 and 30 May.

EHF Champions League Women - group phase

Group A: Team Esbjerg (DEN), CSM București (ROU), FTC-Toyota Kovács (HUN), Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA), RK Krim OTP Group Mercator (SLO), BV Borussia Dortmund (GER), Sola Håndballklubb (NOR), OTP Group Buducnost (MNE)

Group B: Metz Handball (FRA), Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN), Odense Håndbold (DEN), Gloria Bistrița (ROU), HC Podravka (CRO), Storhamar Håndball Elite (NOR), HSG Blomberg-Lippe (GER), Nykøbing Falster Håndbold (DEN)

Photo credit: EHF / Jozo Cabraja / kolektiff