The 2023–24 LEN Women's Champions League is the 36th edition of the water polo competition organised by the Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN). This is the first season under the new changes made by LEN. The defending champions are Astralpool Sabadell.
The Spanish side successfully defended their title with a win against Olympiacos Piraeus in the final.
Format This season, the format has undergone some changes. After one qualification round (instead of two), sixteen teams will qualify for the main round. For the first time ever, the groups in the main round are held in a home and away format. After the main round, the four groups winners will compete in the final four to decide the winners of the LEN Women's Champions League.
Rankings Starting this season, LEN also started a club rankings. Countries inside the top 6 of the new LEN women's club rankings are eligible to enter 5 clubs into the Champions League. While countries outside the top 6 can enter their league champion into either the Champions League or Challenger Cup.
RankAssociationPointsTeams1 Spain105,597.552 Greece91,1253 Hungary84,842.54 Italy76,41045 France24,127.536 Russia53.3807 Netherlands49.30018 Slovakia5,14509 Germany4,62019 Portugal4,620011 Malta3,94012 Israel2,50013 Croatia1,012.5
Teams Alongside the new changes, LEN increased the number of clubs a country can enter, from 4 to 5. German representative, Spandau 04, was the only club outside the top 6 who decided to enter, starting in the qualifiers. While on the other hand, despite being in the top 6, Russia was banned and Netherlands took the sixth-place spot. All other clubs and countries below the top six entered the 2023–24 LEN Women's Challenger Cup.
+ Main round Olympiacos Piraeus (1st) ZF Eger (1st) Ekipe Orizzonte (1st) Astralpool Sabadell CL (1st)
+ Qualification round Lille UC (1st) Mulhouse WP (2nd) Grand Nancy AC (3rd) Spandau 04 (1st) NO Vouliagmeni (2hd) Ethnikos Piraeus (3rd) ANC Glyfada (4th) Alimos NAC Betsson (5th) Dunaújváros (2nd) FTC Telekom (3rd) UVSE Budapest (4th) BVSC-Zugló (5th) SIS Roma (2nd) Antenore Plebiscito Padova (3rd) Pallanuoto Trieste (4th) ZV De Zaan (1st) Assolim CN Mataró (2nd) CN Sant Andreu (3rd) CE Mediterrani (4th) CN Terrassa (5th)
Round and draw dates Schedule Phase Round Round date Qualification round 21–24 September 2023Main round Matchday 1 7–8 October 2023 Matchday 2 21 October 2023 Matchday 3 4 November 2023 Matchday 4 25 November 2023 Matchday 5 9 March 2024 Matchday 6 23 March 2024Final four Semifinals 20 April 2024 Final 21 April 2024
Draw The draw was on 10 August 2023. The seeding was decided by the new LEN club rankings. H indicates which club is hosting the groups.
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 Pot 5 Dunaújváros Assolim CN Mataró (H) UVSE Budapest (H) NO Vouliagmeni CE Mediterrani SIS Roma (H) FTC Telekom ANC Glyfada Ethnikos Piraeus CN Terrassa Lille UC BVSC-Zugló CN Sant Andreu Spandau 04 Mulhouse WP (H) ZV De Zaan Grand Nancy AC Alimos NAC Betsson Pallanuoto Trieste
Qualification round In the qualification round, teams play in a round robin format. The top 3 in every group makes the main round, while the fourth and fifth placed teams in the groups drop down to the 2023–24 LEN Women's Euro Cup group stage.
Group A 21–24 September 2023, Budapest, Hungary.
<onlyinclude>
Group B 21–24 September 2023, Mulhouse, France.
<onlyinclude>
Group C 21–24 September 2023, Mataró, Spain.
<onlyinclude>
Group D 21–24 September 2023, Rome, Italy.
<onlyinclude>
Main round
The draw took place on 26 September 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. The four group winners advance to the final four.
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 2 points for a penalty shootout win, 1 point for a penalty shootout loss, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in all group matches; Goals scored in all group matches.
This is the first time that this round is being held in a home and away format. Five countries are being represented, with Spain boasting the most clubs with five.
Seeding
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 Astralpool Sabadell Olympiacos Piraeus Ekipe Orizzonte ZF Eger UVSE Budapest Mulhouse WP Assolim CN Mataró CN Sant Andreu Alimos NAC Betsson Ethnikos Piraeus NO Vouliagmeni SIS Roma FTC Telekom CE Mediterrani CN Terrassa Dunaújváros
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Final four The Final four was held between 20 and 21 April 2024. The draw was held in Barcelona on 26 March 2024. On 12 April, the Nova Escullera pool in Barcelona was announced as the host.
Bracket
Semi-finals
Third place match
Final
2023–24 LEN Women's Champions League Champions Astralpool SabadellSeventh title
See also 2023–24 LEN Champions League 2023–24 LEN Euro Cup 2023–24 LEN Challenger Cup 2023 LEN Super Cup 2023–24 LEN Women's Euro Cup 2023–24 LEN Women's Challenger Cup 2023 LEN Women's Super Cup
External links Official website Official statistics of the tournament Official playlist
References