The 2025–26 EHF Champions League was the 66th edition of Europe's premier club handball tournament, running from 10 September 2025 to 14 June 2026.
SC Magdeburg were the defending champions. Barça won their 12th title with a win Füchse Berlin.
Format The tournament ran using the same format as the previous three seasons. The competition began with a group stage featuring sixteen teams divided into two groups. Matches were played in a double round-robin system with home-and-away fixtures, fourteen in total for each team. In Groups A and B, the top two teams automatically qualified for the quarter-finals, with teams ranked third to sixth entered the playoff round.
The knockout stage included four rounds: the playoffs, quarter-finals, and a final-four tournament comprising two semifinals and the final. In the playoffs, eight teams were paired against each other in two-legged home-and-away matches (third-placed in group A played sixth-placed group B; fourth-placed group A played fifth-placed group B, etc.). The four aggregate winners of the playoffs advanced to the quarterfinals, joining the top-two teams of Groups A and B. The eight quarterfinalist teams were paired against each other in two-legged home-and-away matches, with the four aggregate winners qualifying to the final-four tournament.
In the final four tournament, the semifinals and the final were played as single matches at a pre-selected host venue.
Association ranking Ten of the sixteen teams competing in the group stage were determined through the EHF association ranking for the 2024–25 season, based on the results of the three previous seasons. The remaining six places will be awarded as wildcards. Associations ranked 1–9 have their league champion qualified for the group stage and could have apply their league runner-up for a wildcard. The best-ranked association in the EHF European League could have its league champion and runner-up qualify for the group stage, but could not apply for a wildcard. Associations ranked outside the top nine could have only had their league champion apply for a wildcard.
RankAssociationAverage pointsTeams1 Spain215.0012 Germany182.3323 Poland166.334 Denmark139.335 Hungary127.006 France127.007 Romania56.50 18 Croatia49.00
RankAssociationAverage pointsTeams9 Portugal 47.00 110 Norway46.3311 North Macedonia34.6712 Ukraine34.00013 Belarus30.0014 Slovenia29.0015All other associations0.00
Participating teams The first ten teams were revealed on 18 June 2025. The full list was announced on 24 June 2025.
RK Zagreb (1st) Aalborg Håndbold (1st) Barcelona (1st) Paris Saint-Germain (1st) Füchse Berlin (1st) SC Magdeburg (2nd) One Veszprém (1st) Orlen Wisła Płock (1st) Sporting CP (1st) CS Dinamo București (1st) GOG Håndbold (2nd) WC HBC Nantes (2nd) WC OTP Bank – Pick Szeged (2nd) WC RK Eurofarm Pelister (1st) WC Kolstad Håndball (2nd) WC Industria Kielce (2nd) WC WC Accepted wildcards
Rejected wildcards FC Porto (2nd) RD LL Grosist Slovan (1st) Kadetten Schaffhausen (1st)
Group stage
The 16 teams were drawn into two groups of eight. Teams from the same national association could not be drawn into the same group. The draw took place on 27 June 2025.
In the group stage, teams were 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; Superior goal difference in all matches of the group; Highest number of plus goals in all matches of the group; Drawing of Lots
A total of 11 national associations were represented in the group stage. GOG Håndbold came back after a year absence.
Group A
Group B
Knockout stage
Playoffs
Quarterfinals
Final four The final four was held at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany on 13 and 14 June 2026.
Bracket
Final
Top goalscorers Rank Player Club Goals1 Mathias Gidsel Füchse Berlin1612 Francisco Costa Sporting CP1363 Elohim Prandi Paris Saint-Germain1204 Aleix Gómez Barcelona1175 Frederik Bjerre GOG Håndbold1156 Martim Costa Sporting CP1127 Melvyn Richardson Orlen Wisła Płock1038 Thomas Arnoldsen Aalborg Håndbold99 Ómar Ingi Magnússon SC Magdeburg10 Lasse Andersson Füchse Berlin97 Awards
The All-star team of the Champions League 2025/26
Position Player Goalkeeper Emil Nielsen (Barça) Right wing Aleix Gómez (Barça) Right back Mathias Gidsel (Füchse Berlin) Centre back Domen Makuc (Barça) Left back Lasse Andersson (Füchse Berlin) Left wing Tim Freihöfer (Füchse Berlin) Pivot Magnus Saugstrup (SC Magdeburg) Best defender Ludovic Fabregas (Barça)
See also 2025–26 EHF European League 2025–26 EHF European Cup 2025–26 Women's EHF Champions League 2025–26 Women's EHF European League 2025–26 Women's EHF European Cup
References
External links Official website