The 2026–27 Women's EHF European League will be the seventh season of the Women's EHF European League, Europe's second-tier women's club handball competition organised by the European Handball Federation (EHF).
According to the official EHF regulations, the season is scheduled to start with the first qualification round on 5–6 September 2026 and to conclude with the EHF European League Finals on 8–9 May 2027.
The competition format includes three qualification rounds, followed by a group phase with four groups of four teams. The top teams from the group phase advance to the quarter-finals, with the four quarter-final winners qualifying for the EHF European League Finals.
JDA Bourgogne Dijon HB won their first title after beating Thüringer HC in the final 29–25 at Dijon.
Format The qualification rounds are played over two legs. The group phase consists of four groups of four teams, with each team playing home and away matches against the other teams in its group. The knockout stage includes two-legged quarter-finals, followed by a final four tournament.
Rankings The rankings are based on the performances of each club from a respective country from a three-year period. Associations 1–2 can have four clubs qualify. Associations 3–9 can have three clubs qualify. Associations 10–18 can have two clubs qualify. Associations 19–29 can have one club qualify. Associations below the top 30 can't participate in this competition.
RankPlace distribution for 2026/27 eurohandball.comAssociationAverage pointsTeams1 Denmark94.6722 Germany92.6743 Norway 78.3334 Romania 75.675 France73.0046 Hungary47.3337 Spain34.3348 Croatia33.0039 Poland 27.6710 Sweden14.6711 Switzerland14.0012 Czech Republic10.00213 Serbia9.6714 Turkey5.33115 Austria1.67
RankAssociationAverage pointsTeams16 North Macedonia1.00117 Portugal1.0018 Greece0.67219 Netherlands0.33019 Slovakia0.3321 Iceland0.3322 Azerbaijan0.0022 Cyprus0.0022 Finland0.0022 Israel0.0022 Italy0.0022 Kosovo0.0022 Luxembourg0.0022 Ukraine0.0030 Everyone else0.00
Qualified teams The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round: EL: European League title holders EC: European Cup title holders CW: Cup winners CR: Cup runners-up 4th, 5th, etc.: League position of the previous season
The official publication of the participating teams was done on 6 July 2026.https://ehfel.eurohandball.com/women/2025-26/news/en/ehf-european-league-women-202627-teams-confirmed-draw-awaits/
Team allocation
Group stage JDA Bourgogne Dijon EL (5th) Ikast Håndbold (4th) Thüringer HC (3rd) DVSC Skyline (3rd)Round 3 HSG Bensheim/Auerbach (4th) HC Dunărea Brăila (5th) MOL Esztergom (4th) Super Amara Bera Bera (CW, 2nd) CBF Málaga Costa del Sol (3rd) RK Lokomotiva Zagreb (2nd) KGHM MKS Zagłębie Lubin (1st) Házená Kynžvart (2nd)Round 2 Viborg HK (5th) Vfl Oldenburg (5th) TuS Metzingen (6th) Molde Elite (3rd) Larvik HK (4th) Tertnes Bergen (5th) CS Corona Brașov (3rd) SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea (4th) Chambray Touraine Handball (3rd) St Amand HB-Porte du Hainaut (4th) OGC Nice Côte d'Azur Handball (6th) Vác (5th) Rocasa Gran Canaria (1st) CB Atlético Guardés EC (4th) ŽRK Zrinski Čakovec (3rd) ŽRK Bjelovar (4th) PGE MKS El-Volt Lublin (2nd) KRASON MKS Piotrcovia PT (3rd) IK Sävehof (1st) Skara HF (2nd) Boden Handboll IF (5th) GC Amicitia Zürich (1st) LC Brühl Handball (2nd) DHK Baník Most (3rd) ŽRK Crvena zvezda (1st) ŽRK Naisa Niš (2nd) Bursa Büyükşehir BSK (1st) Hypo Niederösterreich (1st) HC Gjorche Petrov-WHC AD Skopje (1st) SL Benfica (1st) AC PAOK (1st) AEK Athens (2nd)
Round and draw dates
The schedule of the competition was as follows (all draws were held at the EHF headquarters in Vienna, Austria).
PhaseRoundDraw dateFirst legSecond legQualificationSecond qualifying round14 July 20263–4 October 202610–11 October 2026Third qualifying round13 October 20267–8 November 202614–15 November 2026Group stageMatchday 111 November 20269–10 January 2027Matchday 216–17 January 2027Matchday 323–24 January 2027Matchday 46–7 February 2027Matchday 513–14 February 2027Matchday 620–21 February 2027Knockout phaseQuarter-finals no draw20–21 March 202727–28 March 2027Semi finalsTBD8 May 2027Finalno draw9 May 2027
Qualification round
Round 2 There were 36 teams participating in round 2. The first legs were played on 3–4 October 2026 and the second legs were played on 10–11 October 2026.
Round 3 There were 24 teams participating in round 3. The first legs were played on 7–8 November and the second legs were played on 14–15 November 2026.
References
External links