EHF European Cup Men returns with historic first round

Action starts on Friday at 20:00 CEST in Croatia as MRK Trogir meet VIF from the Faroe Islands. Seven teams will book their tickets to the second round in double-headers this weekend. Additionally, two more double-headers will take place during the upcoming week, Monday through Thursday. Two more will follow the following weekend.

The reigning champions, GRK Ohrid, start their title defence in round 2.

• fans can now follow the competition on the new official social media channels for the European Cup: Instagram and Facebook

• 38 teams from 21 countries enter round 1 – Greece, Israel, Luxembourg, Türkiye, and Austria are represented by three clubs, more than any other nation

• the competition has never had so many participating teams: the previous record was achieved in 2021/22, when 30 teams took part in the first round of the EHF European Cup

• in total, 83 teams have registered for this season’s title chase; the 19 winners from round 1 will be joined for round 2 in October by the 45 teams that have skipped the opening round

• one former winner of the third-tier club competition, AHC Potaissa Turda, takes part in round 1; the Romanian side were crowned champions of the then-called EHF Challenge Cup in 2018

• two former German Bundesliga players will step on the court in round 1 for their new teams: Šime Ivić (MRK Trogier) played for HC Erlangen and SC DHfK Leipzig from 2019 until 2023, while Lenny Rubin (BSV Bern) spent the last six years in Germany’s top-flight for HSG Wetzlar and TVB Stuttgart

Beach handball title as good omen?

Tomasz Kolodzijczyk had a successful summer as part of the Polish beach handball national team that won the EHF Beach Handball Championship. However, Kolodzijczyk was not only part of the team, but also vital for the title win.

The line player from Wroclaw, Poland, was voted as the tournament’s best defender. Could this be a good omen for him and his teammates at MKS Kalisz? The Polish side open their campaign at home against experienced EHF European Cup club Handball Brno from Czechia, who take part for a third consecutive season, on Saturday.

Photos © Granitas-Karys; Action Foto / Mihaela-Ionela Bobar; Uros Hocevar/kolektiff