The best national club teams in beach handball return to the sand in Sicily next month to fight for the first EHF Beach Handball Champions Cup in two years.
The Covid-19 outbreak saw the 2020 edition was cancelled, so this year will see the tournament’s seventh edition feature the national champions from around Europe and mark the close of the European beach handball season for 2021.
In total 15 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams will be going for glory at Isola delle Femmine, a town near Palermo, between 7-10 October.
The men’s teams from 10 nations have been split into three groups of five teams, with the top two and the two best third-placed teams qualifying for the quarter-finals.
In the men’s competition, 2016 champions CBMP Ciudad de Malaga begin their quest for a second title in a group with BHV Wasserschloss (Switzerland), E.F.E. Os Tigres (Portugal), Beachmopeten (Germany) and Blue Team (Italy).
Meanwhile the women’s teams will be represented by seven federations, with the 12 teams placed into two groups of six. The top four teams in each group will advance to the quarter-final stage.
The 2019 winners GEA AM Team Almeria return to defend their title from two years ago, lining up in group A alongside Hadsten Beach Handball (Denmark), GRD Leça - LOVE TILES (Portgual), Strandepitok Girls BTH (Hungary), Beach Unicorns (Germany) and CAIPIranhas (Germany).
Blue Team, representing the Italian federation, finished in second place in 2019 and they take their place in group B alongside two-time winners LV Sport – Multichem Szentendrei NKE (Hungary) Handball Erice SSD (Italy), Minga Turtles (Germany), London GD (Great Britain) and E.F.E. Os Tigres (Portgual).
Live from Sicily
The EHF will be offering live coverage direct from Isola delle Femmine over the four days of competition, including live matches on the Home of Handball Twitch channel - including a special live show on the final day of the competition - and updates across social media.
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TEXT:
European Handball Federation