30 teams to learn opponent in EHF European League Men draw
Throw-off for the inaugural 2020/21 season of the EHF European League Men is approaching fast as the action starts with qualification round 1 in less than five weeks.
Out of the 51 teams in total competing in this newly created second-tier European club competition, 30 of them will start their season in qualification round 1, so they will all be included in the draw in Vienna on Tuesday (28 July).
Tuesday’s draw will take place at 11:00 CEST 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, followed by the second leg one week later.
Three geographical zones
The 30 teams have been divided in three geographical zones to limit travel distances and to reduce possible travel restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
All three zones have two pots with five teams each. A full overview of the six pots with all teams involved can be found here.
Also, the country-protection rule applies, avoiding that two teams from the same nation have to play each other.
The draw procedure is as follows:
Zone 1
STEP 1: Drawing an opponent from Pot 2 for AHC Potaissa Turda in order to avoid HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta
STEP 2: Drawing an opponent from Pot 2 for HC Victor in order to avoid HC CSKA
STEP 3: A team from Pot 1 is drawn against a team from Pot 2 (3x)
Zone 2
STEP 1: Drawing an opponent from Pot 2 for OIF Arendal in order to avoid Haslum Handballklubb
STEP 2: Drawing an opponent from Pot 2 for TTH Holstebro in order to avoid Bjerringbro-Silkeborg and Skjern Handbold
STEP 3: A team from Pot 1 is drawn against a team from Pot 2 (3x)
Zone 3
STEP 1: Drawing an opponent from Pot 2 for Pfadi Winterthur in order to avoid HC Kriens-Luzern
STEP 2: Drawing an opponent from Pot 2 for SL Benfica in order to avoid Club de Futebol Os Belenenses
STEP 3: A team from Pot 1 is drawn against a team from Pot 2 (3x)
Group phase with 24 teams starts in October
A total of 15 teams will advance to qualification round 2 in September, when nine more teams are set to enter the competition.
As a result, 12 teams will qualify for the group phase starting in October 2020, where they will join 12 more teams that have been directly seeded through to the group phase.
A complete overview of the seeding for the whole inaugural season of the EHF European League Men can be found here.
