The draw for the EHF European League Men 2021/22 group phase was held at the EHF headquarters in Vienna on Thursday morning — and plenty of thrills are promised as the competition moves into its main stage, which sees 24 teams across four groups vying for places in the knockout round.  

The winners of the first EHF European League Men title, in 2020/21, SC Magdeburg, were drawn into group C, where they will meet opposition from Sweden, Slovenia, France, Spain and Croatia. EHF FINAL4 2021 participants HBC Nantes will take on Russian, Finnish, German, Danish and Portuguese sides in group B.

The winners of the first EHF European Cup title, also in 2020/21, AEK Athens HC, will play from group D. Group A is headlined by Spanish side Bidasoa Irun, who participated in the 2019/20 edition of the EHF Champions League after an absence from European competitions of more than a decade, as well as two-time EHF Cup winners Füchse Berlin.

Groups for the EHF European League Men 2021/22 group phase:

Group A: Bidasoa Irun (ESP), Pfadi Winterthur (SUI), TATRAN Presov (SVK), Füchse Berlin (GER), Orlen Wisla Plock (POL), Fenix Toulouse Handball (FRA)

Group B: HBC Nantes (FRA), Chekhovskie Medvedi (RUS), Cocks (FIN), TBV Lemgo Lippe (GER), GOG (DEN), SL Benfica (POR)

Group C: SC Magdeburg (GER), IK Sävehof (SWE), RK Gorenje Velenje (SLO), PAUC Handball (FRA), BM Logroño La Rioja (ESP), RK Nexe (CRO)

Group D: Grundfos Tatabánya KC (HUN), HC Eurofarm Pelister (MKD), AEK Athens HC (GRE), Sporting CP (POR), USAM Nimes Gard (FRA), Kadetten Schaffhausen (SUI)

The draw was conducted by EHF President Michael Wiederer and EHF Chief Sports Officer Markus Glaser.

“It was a challenging last season but in the end we managed in a very successful way,” said EHF President Michael Wiederer.

“Now we are looking forward to the upcoming season, which has already been started with the qualification phase.

“It’s perfect to see so many strong and famous teams in this competition.”

France lead representation with four clubs

The teams were seeded in six pots for the draw, with pots 2 and 3 consisting of the national champions of eight countries in total, while the remaining three pots belonged to the teams who made it to the group phase via the qualification stage.

16 national federations across Europe count at least one club participating in the EHF European League Men 2021/22 group phase, while some have multiple teams in the next stage of the competition. France are represented by four clubs, ahead of Germany with three, while Portugal, Switzerland and Spain have two apiece.

The country-protection rule applied to the draw, with several steps followed to prevent two teams from the same country playing in the same group.

The group phase will commence on Tuesday 19 October with the first round. After 10 rounds, the top four teams in each group will advance to the Last 16, starting in March.