The 2019–20 EHF Cup was the 39th edition of the EHF Cup, the second most important European handball club competition organised by the European Handball Federation (EHF), and the seventh edition since the merger with the EHF Cup Winners' Cup. On 24 April 2020 EHF announced that EHF Cup would be cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Team allocation
Teams
Third qualifying round SC Magdeburg Rhein-Neckar Löwen Chambéry Savoie Mont-Blanc MT Melsungen HBC Nantes Bjerringbro-Silkeborg Liberbank Cuenca Grundfos Tatabánya KC Gwardia Opole Metalurg Skopje Füchse Berlin USAM Nîmes Gard TTH Holstebro BM Logroño La Rioja Balatonfüredi KSE RK NexeSecond qualifying round NMC Górnik Zabrze RK Gorenje Velenje SCM Politehnica Timișoara Wacker Thun SKA Minsk Hapoel Ashdod ØIF Arendal Elite Selfoss HC Butel Skopje PAUC Handball Skjern Håndbold CB Ademar León Csurgói KK KS Azoty-Puławy RK Pelister SL BenficaFirst qualifying round RK Dubrava RD Ribnica HC Dobrogea Sud Constanța Maccabi Rishon LeZion FH Hafnarfjordur Spartak Moscow SSK Talent M.A.T.Plzeň ZTR Zaporizhia RK Vojvodina HC Achilles Bocholt Olympiacos S.F.P. Alpla HC Hard KRAS/Volendam KH BESA Famgas Handball Esch Beşiktaş Aygaz Põlva Serviti Dragūnas Klaipėda SSV Bozen Loacker London GD B.S.B. Batumi RK Lovćen RK Borac m:tel Swieqi Phoenix Handball Club RK Metaloplastika HC Visé BM CIP Travel Antalyaspo A.Ş. RK Poreč HK Malmö Pfadi Winterthur Haukar Handball SG Handball West Wien
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 legQualificationFirst qualifying round16 July 201931 August-1 September 20197-8 September 2019Second qualifying round5–6 October 201912–13 October 2019Third qualifying round15 October 201916–17 November 201923–24 November 2019Group stageMatchday 128 November 20198–9 February 2020Matchday 215–16 February 2020Matchday 322–23 February 2019Matchday 429 February–1 March 2020Matchday 521–22 March 2020Matchday 628–29 March 2020Knockout phaseQuarter-finals31 March 202025–26 April 20202–3 May 2020Final four5 May 202023–24 May 2020
Qualification stage The qualification stage consists of three rounds, which will be played as two-legged ties using a home-and-away system. In the draws for each round, teams are allocated into two pots, with teams from Pot 1 facing teams from Pot 2. The winners of each pairing (highlighted in bold) will qualify for the following round.
For each round, teams listed first will play the first leg at home. In some cases, teams agree to play both matches at the same venue.
Round 1 A total of 32 teams entered the draw for the first qualification round, which was held on Tuesday, 16 July 2019. The draw seeding pots were composed as follows:
Pot 1 Pot 2 RK Dubrava RD Riko Ribnica HC Dobrogea Sud Constanța Maccabi Rishon LeZion FH Hafnarfjordur HC Spartak Moscow SSK Talent M.A.T. Plzeň ZTR Zaporizhia
RK Vojvodina HC Achilles Bocholt Olympiacos S.F.P. Alpla HC Hard KRAS/Volendam KH BESA Famgas Handball Esch Beşiktaş Aygaz Põlva Serviti Dragūnas Klaipėda SSV Bozen Loacker London GD B.S.B. Batumi RK Lovćen RK Borac m:tel Swieqi Phoenix Handball Club
RK Metaloplastika HC Visé BM CIP Travel Antalyaspor A.Ş. RK Poreč HK Malmö Pfadi Winterthur Haukar Handball SG Handball West Wien
The first legs were played on 31 August–1 September and the second legs were played on 7–8 September 2019. Some teams agreed to play both matches in the same venue.
Notes
1 Both legs were hosted by KH BESA Famgas. 2 Both legs were hosted by Maccabi Rishon LeZion. 3 Both legs were hosted by ZTR Zaporizhia. 4 Both legs were hosted by Beşiktaş Aygaz. 5 Both legs were hosted by Handball Esch. 6 Both legs were hosted by RK Vojvodina. 7 Both legs were hosted by RK Dubrava.
Round 2 The first legs were played on 5–6 October and the second legs were played on 12–13 October 2019. Some teams agreed to play both matches in the same venue.
Notes
1 Both legs were hosted by Talent M.A.T. Plzeň. 2 Both legs were hosted by SL Benfica. 3 A penalty shootout – which lasted nine shots for each team – was necessary to determine the winner of the tie between ALPLA HC Hard and Skjern Handbold. ALPLA HC Hard won 9–8.
Round 3 A total of 32 teams entered the draw for the third qualification round, which was held on Tuesday, 15 October 2019. The draw seeding pots were composed as follows:
Pot 1 Pot 2 RK Nexe Bjerringbro-Silkeborg TTH Holstebro BM Logroño La Rioja Liberbank Cuenca Chambéry Savoie Mont-Blanc HBC Nantes USAM Nîmes Gard
Füchse Berlin MT Melsungen Rhein-Neckar Löwen SC Magdeburg Balatonfüredi KSE Grundfos Tatabánya KC Metalurg Skopje Gwardia Opole Alpla HC Hard HC Achilles Bocholt SKA Minsk SSK Talent M.A.T. Plzeň CB Ademar León PAUC Handball Olympiacos S.F.P. Csurgói KK
ØIF Arendal Elite KS Azoty-Puławy NMC Górnik Zabrze SL Benfica RK Gorenje Velenje Pfadi Winterthur HK Malmö ZTR Zaporizhia
The first legs were played on 16–17 November and the second legs were played on 23–24 November 2019.
Group stage
The draw of the EHF Cup group stage will take place on Thursday, 28 November 2019. The 16 teams allocated into four pots will be drawn into four groups of four teams.
In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The matchdays are 8–9 February, 15–16 February, 22–23 February, 29 February–1 March, 21–22 March and 28–29 March 2020.
On 25 March 2020, the EHF announced that no matches will be played before June due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the group stage, teams are ranked according to points (2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). After completion of the group stage, if two or more teams have scored the same number of points, the ranking will be determined as follows:
Highest number of points in matches between the teams directly involved; Superior goal difference in matches between the teams directly involved; Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams directly involved (or in the away match in case of a two-team tie); Superior goal difference in all matches of the group; Highest number of plus goals in all matches of the group; If the ranking of one of these teams is determined, the above criteria are consecutively followed until the ranking of all teams is determined. If no ranking can be determined, a decision shall be obtained by EHF through drawing of lots.
During the group stage, only criteria 4–5 apply to determine the provisional ranking of teams.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Ranking of the second-placed teams The top three second-placed teams will qualify to the quarter-finals. The ranking of the second-placed teams will be determined on the basis of the team's results in the group stage.
Knockout stage
Quarter-finals The draw for the quarter-final pairings was scheduled to be held on Tuesday, 31 March, in the EHF headquarters in Vienna, but due to the postponed matches of the group stage, EHF will announce any further updates accordingly. On 24 April 2020 the matches were cancelled.
Final four The eighth edition of the EHF Cup Finals in 2020 will be hosted by Füchse Berlin after the EHF Executive Committee decided to award the hosting rights to the German club at its meeting on 22 November 2019. The tournament was scheduled to take place at Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin, on 23 and 24 May 2020, but was rescheduled to 29 and 30 August 2020. On 24 April 2020 EHF announced that in agreement with the organizers, Füchse Berlin, the MEN’S EHF Cup Finals scheduled for 29 and 30 August are cancelled. The tournament will not be carried out.
Bracket
Semifinals
Third place game
Final
Top goalscorers
Rank Player Club Goals1 Mohammad Sanad USAM Nîmes Gard492 Magnus Bramming TTH Holstebro44 Petar Đorđić S.L. Benfica
See also 2019–20 EHF Champions League 2019–20 EHF Challenge Cup
References
External links Official website