The eighth edition of the EHF Beach Handball Champions Cup starts today (20 October) in Porto Santo, Portugal.

Europe’s leading teams will compete for the men’s and women’s titles on the sand in Madeira as the event brings to an end the European beach handball season, culminating with the finals on Sunday 23 October.

The 2022 edition will be the first time Portugal hosts the cup, an event which was held for the first time in 2014 and has been held every year since – with the exception of 2020 due to the covid pandemic.

32 teams from 13 countries – Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland – will compete on the Portuguese sand.

Last year, GRD Leça - Love Tiles won the women’s title and will be defending their title on home sand this year, while neighbouring Spain provides the men’s defending champions - CBMP Ciudad de Málaga.

Several national team players, as well as IHF Beach Handball World Championship, World Games and World Beach Games participants, winners and medallists, have been named in the pre-event team squads.

These include Hungarians Fanni Fribesz, Renata Adrienn Csiki, Kitti Groz and Andras Nagy, Spain’s Asuncion Batista and Patricia Conejero Galan, Sweden’s Victor Paldanius and Jesper Knutsson and Denmark’s Camilla Larsen Degn and Martin Vilstrup Andersen.

Outside of Europe, Australians Sally Potocki, Manon Vernay and Daniel Fogarty are named along with the Brazilian Beatriz Correia, Argentina’s Zoe Turnes and New Zealand’s Francesca Graham.

Current men’s world champion Ivan Juric (Croatia) is also joined by current women’s world champions, the German pair of Belen Gettwart and Isabel Kattner.

The preliminary round features four groups of four teams in each gender, with the top two in each group moving into the main round featuring two groups of four teams each. 

All eight teams then go through to the quarterfinals, semifinals and then final. The bottom two in each preliminary round group move into a consolation round. 

The previous seven EHF Beach Handball Champions Cup events have seen six different countries take the honours, with teams from Spain winning a total of six titles (three men’s and three women’s), Russian clubs taking three men’s titles and Croatia one, while Hungarian clubs have won two women’s titles, alongside a solitary women’s title going to Norway and Portugal alike. For a list of previous winners, click here.

The games will be streamed live on ehfTV.com.

Women’s competition

Group A: HEI Dame Beach Handball (DEN), BHT Byczki Kowalewo Pomorskie (POL), Olympia Beach Handball (GBR), Balonmano Playa Alcalá (ESP)

Group B: S.V. Voorwaarts (NED), Team WON (DEN), London GD (GBR), GEA A.M. Team Almeria (ESP)

Group C: Brüder Ismaning (GER), GRD Leça - Love Tiles (POR), Beachqueens (SUI), OVB Beach Girls® (HUN)

Group D: Brest Bretagne Handball – Ligue de Bretagne (FRA), Nazaré BHT (POR), Beach Bazis / Schleißheim (GER), TT Sport Multichem Szentendrei NKE (HUN)

For more information on the women’s competition, click here.

Men’s competition

Group A: Hg Gokstad (NOR), BHT Petra Plock (POL), Vegetas BHC (POR), Fomento Deporte CBMP Ciudad de Málaga (ESP)

Group B: Galobank BM Playa (ESP), CS VESOUL 70 - LIGUE Bourgogne Franche-Comté (BFC) (FRA), Göteborg Beach Handball Club (SWE), Beach Handball Oderzo Beach Fioi (ITA)

Group C: Escola de Formação de Espinho - Os Tigres (POR), Die Otternasen (GER), Beach Stars BHC (HUN), Camelot Handball Tilburg (NED)

Group D: GRD Leça - SPAR (POR), BHC Beaching Bad Minden (GER), Salgótarjáni Strandépítök BHC (HUN), London Beach Handball (GBR)

For more information on the men’s competition, click here.