EHF Women's Champions League

EHF Champions League

Current season, competition or edition: 2022–23 Women's EHF Champions League
Sport	Handball
Founded	1961 (1961)
No. of teams	16
Country	EHF members
Continent	Europe
Most recent champion(s)	Vipers Kristiansand (2nd title)
Most titles	Spartak Kyiv (13 titles)
Related competitions	EHF European League
Official website	ehfcl.eurohandball.com

The Women's EHF Champions League is the competition for the top women's handball clubs in Europe, organised annually by the European Handball Federation (EHF). It is the most prestigious tournament for clubs, with the champions of Europe's top national leagues participating.

Tournament structure

Each year, the EHF publishes a ranking list of its member federations. The first 27 nations are allowed to participate in the tournament with their national champion. The national federations are allowed to request extra places or upgrades from the EHF Cup.

The EHF Champions League is divided into five stages. Depending on the ranking of their national federation and of the criteria list, teams can enter the competition in either qualification or the group phase.

The current playing system changed for the 2020–21 season.

Qualification tournament

Groups of four teams are formed. The number of groups can vary each season. Teams from each group play semi-finals and finals, in a single venue over a weekend. The winning team from each group advance to the group phase, while teams from lower ranks continue in the EHF Cup.

Tournament format

Each year, the EHF publishes a ranking list of its member federations. The first nine nations are allowed to participate in the tournament with their national champion. In addition, the tenth spot is reserved for the best ranked national federation of the EHF European League. The national federations are allowed to request upgrades for their teams eligible to play in the EHF European League and based on the criteria list the EHF Executive Committee approves six upgrades.

The EHF Champions League is divided into four stages. All participating teams enter the competition in the group phase.

The current playing system has been introduced before the 2020–21 season.

Group phase

Since the 2020–21 season, the format sees two groups formed, with eight teams each in Group A and B. All the teams in each group play each other twice, in home and away matches (14 rounds in total). The first two teams in Groups A and B advance directly to the quarter-finals, while teams from positions three to six in each of these groups proceed to the play off. The season is over for the last two teams in each group after the completion of the group phase.

Play off

The pairings for the play off are decided by the placement of the teams at the end of the group phase (A6 vs B3, B6 vs A3, A5 vs B4 and B5 vs A4). Each pairing is decided via a home and away format, with the aggregate winners over the two legs advancing to the quarter-finals. The higher ranked teams in the group phase have the home right advantage in the second leg.

Quarter-finals

The pairings for the quarter-finals are also decided by the placement in the group phase (Winner of A5/B4 vs A1, Winner B5/A4 vs B1, Winner A6/B3 vs A2, Winner B6/A3 vs B2). The ties are decided through a home and away format, with the four winners over the two legs played in each pairing advancing to the EHF FINAL4. The higher ranked teams in the group phase have the home right advantage in the second leg.

EHF FINAL4

The participating EHF FINAL4 teams are paired for the semi-finals through a draw and play the last two matches of the season over a single weekend at one venue. The two semi-finals are played on a Saturday, with the third-place game and final on a Sunday.

Summary

European Champions Cup

Year		Final				Semi-finals losers
		Champion	Score	Runner-up
1961 Details		Știința București	13–5 (8–1 / 5–4)	Dynamo Prague		Žalgiris Kaunas	RSF Mulheim
1961–62 Details		Sparta Prague	11–7 (2–3 / 9–4)	ORK Belgrade		RSF Mulheim	Știința București
1962–63 Details		Trud Moscow	11–8	Frederiksberg IF		Fortschritt Weissenfels	Rapid București
1963–64 Details		Rapid București	14–13	Helsingør IF		Spartacus Budapest	Eimsbütteler TV
1964–65 Details		HG København	21–16 (14–6 / 7–10)	Spartacus Budapest		Swift Roermond	Lokomotiva Zagreb
1965–66 Details		SC Leipzig	17–11 (10–5 / 7–6)	HG København		Spartacus Budapest	Sparta Prague
1966–67 Details		Žalgiris Kaunas	8–7	SC Leipzig		Universitatea Timișoara	Bohemians Prague
1967–68 Details		Žalgiris Kaunas	13–11	Empor Rostock		KS Cracovia	Rapid București
1969–70 Details		Spartak Kyiv	9–7	SC Leipzig		Žalgiris Kaunas	HG København
1970–71 Details		Spartak Kyiv	11–9	Ferencvárosi TC		1.FC Nürnberg	HG København
1971–72 Details		Spartak Kyiv	12–8	SC Leipzig		Bakony Veszprém	Universitatea București
1972–73 Details		Spartak Kyiv	17–8	Universitatea Timișoara		NILOC Amsterdam	SC Leipzig
1973–74 Details		SC Leipzig	12–10	Spartak Kyiv		Eintracht Minden	Radnički Belgrade
1974–75 Details		Spartak Kyiv	14–10	Lokomotiva Zagreb		IEFS București	Vasas Budapest
1975–76 Details		Radnicki Belgrade	22–12	Swift Roermond		Admira Wien	Stockholmspolisens IF
1976–77 Details		Spartak Kyiv	15–7	SC Leipzig		Radnicki Belgrade	IL Vestar
1977–78 Details		TSC Berlin	19–14	Vasas Budapest		IL Vestar	Ruch Chorzów
1978–79 Details		Spartak Kyiv	27–26 (13–17 / 14–9)	Vasas Budapest		Eintracht Minden	SC Leipzig
1979–80 Details		RK Radnicki Belgrade	45–29 (22–19 / 23–10 )	Inter Bratislava		Stockholmspolisens IF	VIG G. Dimitrov
1980–81 Details		Spartak Kyiv	39–26 (17–13 / 22–13)	Radnicki Belgrade		VIG G. Dimitrov	RK Osijek
1981–82 Details		Vasas Budapest	50–43 (29–19 / 21–24)	Radnicki Belgrade		Spartak Kyiv	Rulmentul Braşov
1982–83 Details		Spartak Kyiv	48–36 (23–19 / 25–17)	Radnicki Belgrade		Bayer Leverkusen	Vasas Budapest
1983–84 Details		Radnicki Belgrade	42–35 (22–16 / 20–19)	Bayer Leverkusen		Hypo Niederösterreich	Vasas Budapest
1984–85 Details		Spartak Kyiv	41–31 (23–16 / 18–15)	Radnicki Belgrade		SC Leipzig	Hypo Niederösterreich
1985–86 Details		Spartak Kyiv	52–45 (29–23 / 23–22)	Ştiinţa Bacău		Vasas Budapest	Budućnost Titograd
1986–87 Details		Spartak Kyiv	50–37 (25–17 / 25–20)	Hypo Niederösterreich		Ştiinţa Bacău	ZVL Prešov
1987–88 Details		Spartak Kyiv	33–31 (16–14 / 17–17)	Hypo Niederösterreich		Spartacus Budapest	Radnicki Belgrade
1988–89 Details		Hypo Niederösterreich	37–33 (16–14 / 21–19)	Spartak Kyiv		Debreceni VSC	CS Mureșul
1989–90 Details		Hypo Niederösterreich	59–50 (29–24 / 30–26)	Kuban Krasnodar		Chimistul Râmnicu Vâlcea	SC Brühl
1990–91 Details		TV Giessen-Lützellinden	43–40 (21–15 / 22–25)	Hypo Niederösterreich		Rostselmash	Építők SC
1991–92 Details		Hypo Niederösterreich	34–32 (15–14 / 19–18)	TV Giessen-Lützellinden		Chimistul Râmnicu Vâlcea	Walle Bremen
1992–93 Details		Hypo Niederösterreich	40–25 (17–14 / 23–11)	Vasas Budapest		Mar Valencia	Walle Bremen

EHF Women's Champions League (knockout system)

Year		Final				Semi-finals losers
		Champion	Score	Runner-up
1993–94 Details		Hypo Niederösterreich	45–39 (18–20 / 25–21)	Vasas Budapest		Mar Valencia	TV Giessen-Lützellinden
1994–95 Details		Hypo Niederösterreich	40–36 (17–14 / 26–19)	Podravka Koprivnica		Mar Valencia	Walle Bremen
1995–96 Details		Podravka Koprivnica	38–37 (17–13 / 25–20)	Hypo Niederösterreich		Mar Valencia	Ferencvárosi TC
1996–97 Details		Mar Valencia	58–50 (35–26 / 24–23)	Viborg HK		Hypo Niederösterreich	Ferencvárosi TC
1997–98 Details		Hypo Niederösterreich	56–47 (28–21 / 26–28)	Mar Valencia		Podravka Koprivnica	Budućnost Podgorica
1998–99 Details		Dunaújvárosi NKS	51–49 (25–23 / 26–26)	Krim Ljubljana		Hypo Niederösterreich	Budućnost Podgorica
1999–00 Details		Hypo Niederösterreich	52–45 (32–23 / 22–20)	Kometal Gjorče Petrov		Buducnost Podgorica	Volgograd Akva
2000–01 Details		Krim Ljubljana	47–41 (22–22 / 25–19)	Viborg HK		Budućnost Podgorica	Ferencvárosi TC
2001–02 Details		Kometal Gjorče Petrov	51–49 (27–25 / 26–22)	Ferencvárosi TC		Larvik HK	Budućnost Podgorica
2002–03 Details		Krim Ljubljana	63–58 (30–27 / 36–28)	Mar Valencia		Ikast EH	Viborg HK
2003–04 Details		Slagelse FH	61–56 (25–24 / 32–36)	Krim Ljubljana		Dunaújvárosi NKS	Larvik HK
2004–05 Details		Slagelse FH	54–43 (27–23 / 20–27)	Kometal Gjorče Petrov		Dunaújvárosi NKS	Hypo Niederösterreich
2005–06 Details		Viborg HK	44–43 (22–24 / 20–21)	Krim Ljubljana		BM Sagunto	Aalborg DH
2006–07 Details		Slagelse FH	61–53 (29–29 / 32–24)	Lada Togliatti		Győri ETO	Hypo Niederösterreich
2007–08 Details		Zvezda Zvenigorod	56–53 (25–24 / 29–31)	Hypo Niederösterreich		Győri ETO	Lada Togliatti
2008–09 Details		Viborg HK	50–49 (24–26 / 23–26)	Győri ETO		Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea	Hypo Niederösterreich
2009–10 Details		Viborg HK	60–52 (28–21 / 32–31)	Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea		Győri ETO	Larvik HK
2010–11 Details		Larvik HK	47–46 (23–21 / 25–24)	SD Itxako		ŽRK Budućnost	Győri ETO
2011–12 Details		ŽRK Budućnost	54–54 (29–27 / 27–25)	Győri Audi ETO KC		Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea	Larvik HK
2012–13 Details		Győri Audi ETO KC	47–43 (21–24 / 23–22)	Larvik HK		Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea	Krim Ljubljana

EHF Women's Champions League (EHF FINAL4 system)

Year		Final				Semi-finals losers
		Champion	Score	Runner-up		Third place	Fourth place
2013–14 Details		Győri Audi ETO KC	27–21	ŽRK Budućnost		HC Vardar	FC Midtjylland
2014–15 Details		ŽRK Budućnost	26–22	Larvik HK		HC Vardar	Dinamo Volgograd
2015–16 Details		CSM București	29–26 (Pen)	Győri Audi ETO KC		HC Vardar	ŽRK Budućnost
2016–17 Details		Győri Audi ETO KC	31–30 (OT)	HC Vardar		CSM București	ŽRK Budućnost
2017–18 Details		Győri Audi ETO KC	27–26 (OT)	HC Vardar		CSM București	Rostov-Don
2018–19 Details		Győri Audi ETO KC	25–24	Rostov-Don		Vipers Kristiansand	Metz Handball
2019–20 Details		Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.				Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020–21 Details		Vipers Kristiansand	34–28	Brest Bretagne Handball		Győri Audi ETO KC	CSKA Moscow
2021–22 Details		Vipers Kristiansand	33–31	Győri Audi ETO KC		Metz Handball	Team Esbjerg
2022–23 Details

Records and statistics

Performance by club

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Years won	Years runners-up
Spartak Kyiv	13	2	1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988	1974, 1989
Hypo Niederösterreich	8	5	1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000	1987, 1988, 1991, 1996, 2008
Győri Audi ETO KC	5	4	2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019	2009, 2012, 2016, 2022
Radnički Belgrade	3	4	1976, 1980, 1984	1981, 1982, 1983, 1985
Viborg HK	3	2	2006, 2009, 2010	1997, 2001
Slagelse DT	3	0	2004, 2005, 2007
SC Leipzig	2	4	1966, 1974	1967, 1970, 1972, 1977
Krim Ljubljana	2	3	2001, 2003	1999, 2004, 2006
ŽRK Budućnost	2	1	2012, 2015	2014
Žalgiris Kaunas	2	0	1967, 1968
Vipers Kristiansand	2	0	2021, 2022
Vasas Budapest	1	4	1982	1978, 1979, 1993, 1994
Sagunto	1	2	1997	1998, 2003
Kometal Skopje	1	2	2002	2000, 2005
Larvik HK	1	2	2011	2013, 2015
HG København	1	1	1965	1966
TV Giessen-Lützellinden	1	1	1991	1992
Podravka Koprivnica	1	1	1996	1995
Știința București	1	0	1961
Sparta Prague	1	0	1962
Trud Moscow	1	0	1963
Rapid București	1	0	1964
TSC Berlin	1	0	1978
Dunaferr NK	1	0	1999
Zvezda Zvenigorod	1	0	2008
CSM București	1	0	2016

Performance by country

Rank	Country	Winners	Runners-up	Total finals
1	Soviet Union	16	3	19
2	Austria	8	5	13
3	Hungary	7	11	18
4	Denmark	7	5	12
5	Yugoslavia	3	6	9
6	East Germany	3	5	8
7	Romania	3	3	6
8	Norway	3	2	5
9	Slovenia	2	3	5
10	Montenegro	2	1	3
11	North Macedonia	1	4	5
12	Spain	1	3	4
13	Czech Republic	1	2	3
	Germany	1	2	3
	Russia	1	2	3
16	Croatia	1	1	2
17	France	0	1	1
18	Netherlands	0	1	1
Total		60	60	120

All-time top scorers

Last updated after the 2021–22 season

Rank	Players	Goals	Ssn pld
1	Anita Görbicz	1016	18
2	Jovanka Radičević	978	18
3	Cristina Neagu	910	14
4	Andrea Lekić	895	15
5	Katarina Bulatović	842	16
6	Eduarda Amorim	747	17
7	Bojana Popović	733 1	14
8	Andrea Penezić	720	11
9	Ana Gros	719	13
10	Nora Mørk	711	13
11	Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth	683	14
12	Heidi Løke	622	12
13	Isabelle Gullden	598	13
14	Alexandra do Nascimento	560	13
15	Anikó Kovacsics	542	14

Bold: players in bold are active in the current season.

All-time top scorers of the WOMEN'S EHF FINAL4

Last updated after the 2021–22 season

Rank	Players	Goals	FF apps
1	Nycke Groot	57	5
	Anita Görbicz	57	6
3	Cristina Neagu	56	5
4	Isabelle Gulldén	55	5
5	Eduarda Amorim	49	6
6	Henny Reistad	48	3
7	Andrea Lekić	47	5
8	Andrea Penezić	42	4
	Katarina Bulatović	42	5
10	Jovanka Radičević	40	5
	Nora Mørk	40	6
12	Majda Mehmedović	29	5
	Stine Bredal Oftedal	29	4
14	Heidi Løke	28	4
15	Linn Jørum Sulland	24	3

Notes

• 1: Goals from four seasons (1998–2002) are missing. Bojana Popovic's tally is higher than what is written here.

Top scorers by season

Top scorers by season

Season	Player	Club	Goals
1993–94	Natalia Morskova	Mar Valencia	102
1994–95	Snježana Petika	Podravka Koprivnica	072
1995–96	Snježana Petika (2)	Podravka Koprivnica	077
1996–97	Natalia Morskova (2)	Mar Valencia	150
1997–98	Natalia Morskova (3)	Mar Valencia	127
1998–99	/ Nataliya Derepasko	Krim Ljubljana	120
1999–00	Ausra Fridrikas	Hypo Niederösterreich	097
2000–01	Ausra Fridrikas (2)	Bækkelagets SK Oslo	083
2001–02	Ágnes Farkas	Ferencvárosi TC	112
2002–03	Nataliya Derepasko (2)	RK Krim	081
2003–04	Bojana Popović	Slagelse FH	098
2004–05	Tatjana Logvin	Hypo Niederösterreich	085
2005–06	Nataliya Derepasko (3)	RK Krim	086
2006–07	Bojana Popović (2)	Slagelse FH	096
2007–08	Tímea Tóth	Hypo Niederösterreich	127
2008–09	Grit Jurack	Viborg HK	113
2009–10	Cristina Vărzaru	Viborg HK	101
2010–11	Heidi Løke	Larvik HK	099
2011–12	Anita Görbicz	Győri ETO KC	133
2012–13	Zsuzsanna Tomori	Ferencvárosi TC	095
2013–14	Anita Görbicz (2)	Győri ETO KC	087
2014–15	Cristina Neagu	ŽRK Budućnost	102
	Andrea Penezić	HC Vardar	102
2015–16	Isabelle Gulldén	CSM București	108
2016–17	Andrea Penezić (2)	HC Vardar	098
2017–18	Cristina Neagu (2)	CSM București	110
2018–19	Linn Jørum Sulland	Vipers Kristiansand	089
2019–20	Jovanka Radičević	ŽRK Budućnost	097
2020–21	Ana Gros	Brest Bretagne	135
2021–22	Cristina Neagu (3)	CSM București	110

WOMEN'S EHF FINAL4 MVPs by season

MVP by season

Season	Player	Club	Playing position
2013–14	Katrine Lunde	Győri ETO KC	Goalkeeper
2014–15	Clara Woltering	ŽRK Budućnost	Goalkeeper
2015–16	Jelena Grubišić	CSM București	Goalkeeper
2016–17	Nycke Groot	Győri ETO KC	Centre back
2017–18	Amandine Leynaud	HC Vardar	Goalkeeper
2018–19	Kari Aalvik Grimsbø	Győri ETO KC	Goalkeeper
2020–21	Henny Reistad	Vipers Kristiansand	Centre back
2021–22	Markéta Jeřábková	Vipers Kristiansand	Left back

Goals scored in the Final Four by nations

All goals (1725) scored in the Final Four by the nationality of the players.

Last updated after the 2021/22 season.

Rank	Nation	Goals
1	Norway	331
2	Montenegro	183
3	France	173
4	Russia	166
5	Hungary	135
6	Romania	105
7	Denmark	99
8	Netherlands	80
9	Serbia	78
10	Sweden	74
11	Croatia	70
12	Brazil	69

Rank	Nation	Goals
13	Czech Republic	37
14	Slovenia	36
15	Spain	20
16	Germany	18
17	North Macedonia	18
18	Poland	7
19	Ukraine	7
20	Tunisia	7
21	South Korea	5
22	Turkey	4
23	Belarus	3

Top Scorers by Team

Rank	Team	Titles	Record
1	Hypo Niederösterreich	3	127
	CSM București	3	110
	Mar Valencia	3	150
	RK Krim	3	120
4	RK Podravka Koprivnica	2	77
	Slagelse FH	2	98
	Viborg HK	2	113
	Ferencvárosi TC	2	112
	Győri Audi ETO KC	2	133
	ŽRK Budućnost	2	102
	HC Vardar	2	102
12	Brest Bretagne Handball	1	135
	Bækkelagets SK	1	83
	Larvik HK	1	99
	Vipers Kristiansand	1	89

Top Scorers by Country

(Nationality of the Top Scorer Players)

Rank	Country	Titles	Record
1	Hungary	5	133
2	Croatia	4	102
	Romania	4	110
	Slovenia	4	135
4	Austria	3	97
	Montenegro	3	98
	Russia	3	150
8	Norway	2	99
9	Germany	1	113
	Sweden	1	108

Players with the most Champions League titles

Rank	Players	Titles	Winning years and clubs
			#	List
1	/ Zinaida Turchyna	13	1	Spartak Kyiv 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988
2	/ Nataliya Rusnachenko	10	2	Spartak Kyiv 1986, 1987, 1988, Hypo Niederösterreich 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000
3	/ Marianna Racz	7	2	Vasas Budapest 1982, Hypo Niederösterreich 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995
	/ Stanka Božović	7	1	Hypo Niederösterreich
4	/ Ausra Fridrikas	6	2	Hypo Niederösterreich 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, Slagelse FH 2004, 2005
	Katrine Lunde	6	3	Viborg 2009, 2010, Győri ETO KC 2013, 2014, Vipers Kristiansand 2021, 2022
	Nora Mørk	6	3	Larvik HK 2011, Győri ETO KC 2017, 2018, 2019, Vipers Kristiansand 2021, 2022
	Bojana Popović	6	3	Slagelse FH 2004, 2005, 2007, Viborg HK 2009, 2010, ŽRK Budućnost 2012
8	Eduarda Amorim	5	1	Győri ETO KC 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019
	Anita Görbicz	5	1	Győri ETO KC 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019
	Jana Knedlíková	5	2	Győri ETO KC 2017, 2018, 2019, Vipers Kristiansand 2021, 2022
	Heidi Løke	5	3	Larvik HK 2011, Győri ETO KC 2013, 2014, 2017, Vipers Kristiansand 2021

See also

• EHF Champions League
• Women's EHF European League

References

• Todor Krastev. "Women Handball European Champions Cup and Champions League Archive". Todor 66. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
• "Champions League Regulation Women". European Handball Federation. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
• "Women's Champions League Official site". European Handball Federation. Retrieved 5 January 2009.

External links

• Official website