The highly anticipated group phase of the EHF European League Women 2021/22 in January and February will open with a group C tie in Romania, according to the playing schedule released by the EHF on Tuesday.
Magura Cisnadie host Norwegian side Storhamar Handball Elite on Saturday 8 January at 16:00 CET in the first match of the group phase, followed two hours later by a group D game in France between Chambray Touraine Handball and Váci NKSE from Hungary.
The remaining six matches in round 1, including defending champions Les Neptunes de Nantes playing at home in France against German Bundesliga side SG BBM Bietigheim, are scheduled for Sunday 9 January.
The group phase consists of four groups of four teams each. All participants in a group play home and away matches against each other, with the top-two ranked teams after the final round 6, which will be played on 19/20 February, advancing to the quarter-finals.
The full playing schedule for the EHF European League Women group phase is available for download here.