Six pots ready for opening qualification round draw in EHF European League Men
All 30 teams in the EHF European League Men got to know pools of their possible foes in the first qualification round after the EHF has adopted a new approach in the seeding.
Instead of dividing the teams in just two pots like in the previous years, this time around three zones based on a reasonable geographical proximity have been created to prevent teams from travelling to the opposite side of the continent and also to reduce possible travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
There will be two pots in each zone and, as another new element in the draw procedure, the country protection rule will be applied already at this stage of the competition, which means that two teams from the same country will not meet each other.
The draw for the opening qualication round will take place on Tuesday 28 July at 11:00 CEST in Vienna and will be streamed live on EHFTV as well as the EHF European League Facebook page and YouTube channel.
The first leg of qualification round 1 is scheduled for 29/30 August and the second leg will follow one week later.
51 teams have been registered for 2020/21 season
A total of 51 teams have been registered for the 2020/21 season, however only 24 will reach the group phase come October 2020. While 12 teams have been directly seeded for the group phase, the remaining dozen of teams have to go through the qualification system of two rounds.
A complete overview of the seeding for the whole inaugural season of the EHF European League Men can be downloaded here.
Zone 1
Pot 1
SKA Minsk (BLR)
HC Butel Skopje (MKD)
HC Metalurg (MKD)
AHC Potaissa Turda (ROU)
HC Victor (RUS)
Pot 2
HRK Gorica (CRO)
RK Spacva Vinkovci (CRO)
HEDO-B. Braun Gyöngyös (HUN)
HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta (ROU)
HC CSKA (RUS)
Zone 2
Pot 1
TTH Holstebro (DEN)
MT Melsungen (GER)
ØIF Arendal (NOR)
KS Azoty-Pulawy SA (POL)
HK Malmö (SWE)
Pot 2
Bjerringbro-Silkeborg (DEN)
Skjern Handbold (DEN)
Valur (ISL)
Haslum Handballklubb (NOR)
IFK Kristianstad (SWE)
Zone 3
Pot 1
RK Dubrava (CRO)
Bidasoa Irun (ESP)
SL Benfica (POR)
RK Trimo Trebnje (SLO)
Pfadi Winterthur (SUI)
Pot 2
Fivers (AUT)
PAUC Handball (FRA)
Handball Esch (LUX)
Club de Futebol Os Belenenses (POR)
HC Kriens-Luzern (SUI)
