Men´s EHF Cup Round 3 – draw results

The draw of the Men’s EHF Cup Round 3 took place at the EHF headquarters in Vienna on Tuesday, 23 October 2012. 16 seeded teams from Pot 1 were drawn against other 16 teams from Pot 2 by Joan Marin, the chairman of the Professional Handball Board.

The Round 3 is the last knock-out stage before the Group Phase. The first leg of Round 3 will be played 24/25 November and the second leg one week later. The Group Phase of four groups of four teams will start only after the World Championship in Spain – 9/10 February.

The winners of the last edition of the old EHF Cup Frisch Auf Göppingen will start their journey for another trophy with a match against HC Brest Meshkov from Belarus. Their Bundesliga fellows and three times winners of the old EHF Cup (1999, 2001, 2007) from SC Magdeburg will play against Macedonian Vardar PRO Skopje.

The third German team and VELUX EHF FINAL4 2011 participants from Rhein-Neckar Löwen will face the Greek outfit A.C. Diomidis Argous, who won the EHF Challenge Cup last season.

Apart from three German clubs only three other clubs were seeded for the Round 3 from the beginning of the season. France´s HBC Nantes will encounter SL Benfica from Portugal, BM Aragon will meet with Sweden´s Eskilstuna Guilf and their fellow Spanish team Naturhouse La Rioja were drawn against RK Vojvodina from Serbia.

The emerging Danish powerhouse KIF Kolding who had to make their way through first two qualification rounds will face Russian club Permskie Medvedi. Last season´s quarterfinalists of the VELUX EHF Champions League Cimos Koper (SLO) will play for a ticket in the Group Phase with Portuguese champions FC Porto Vitalis.

The new format with three qualification rounds, a Group Phase, quarter-finals and a Final Tournament with four teams playing semi-finals and finals over two days (18/19 May 2013) was launched at the beginning of the 2012/13 season.

Before the season the Men’s EHF Cup and the Men’s Cup Winners’ Cup have joined together to create a three tier men’s competition system, with the VELUX EHF Champions League as the premium product, followed by the new EHF Cup and then Challenge Cup.

Men´s EHF Cup Round 3
(first leg 24-25 November, second leg 1-2 December)

Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER) vs Meshkov Brest (BLR)
RK "Borac m:tel" Banja Luka (BIH) vs Tatran Prešov (SVK)
RK Siscia (CRO) vs Branik Maribor (SLO)
A.C. Diomidis Argous (GRE) vs Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER)
RK Cimos Koper (SLO) vs FC Porto Vitalis (POR)
HBC Nantes (FRA) vs SL Benfica (POR)
Team Tvis Holstebro (DEN) vs Saint-Raphael Var Handball (FRA)
Eskilstuna Guif (SWE) vs BM Aragon (ESP)
SC Magdeburg (GER) vs Vardar PRO Skopje (MKD)
Naturhouse La Rioja (ESP) vs RK Vojvodina (SRB)
Stiinta Municipal Dedeman Bacau (ROU) vs Maccabi Srugo Rishon Lezion (ISR)
Haslum HK (NOR) vs Besiktas JK (TUR)
Orlen Wisła Plock (POL) vs Sungul Snezhinsk (RUS)
Elverum Handball Herrer (NOR) vs RK Sloga (BIH)
HC Motor Zaporozhye (UKR) vs Alpla HC Hard (AUT)
KIF Kolding (DEN) vs Permskie Medvedi (RUS)

Futher information
Find the results of the draw here