Europe’s second-tier international club competition encompasses six phases: qualification round 2, qualification round 3, the group phase, quarter-finals and the semi-finals and finals. The latter two are played over one thrilling weekend, the EHF Finals, where the trophy is decided.
32 teams get the competition started in qualification round 2, before eight clubs join the title race in qualification round 3. Four teams are directly qualified for the group phase. The qualification rounds and quarter-finals are all played as a series of two-leg home-and-away encounters, with the winners determined based on the aggregate score.
The draw for round 2 will be conducted on 14 July at 11:00 CEST, alongside the draws for the EHF European Cup Men and Women, and streamed live on the Home of Handball YouTube.
EHF European League Women 2026/27 qualification round 2
Qualification round 2 will take place on 3–4 and 10–11 September 2026. The 32 teams starting in this stage are:
- Viborg HK
- Chambray Touraine Handball
- Larvik HK
- PGE MKS El-Volt Lublin
- Clube Balonmán Atlético Guardés
- SCM Ramnicu Valcea
- IK Sävehof
- Bursa Büyüksehir BSK
- VfL Oldenburg
- Vác
- A.C. PAOK
- Sport Lisboa e Benfica
- Rocasa Gran Canaria
- CSM Corona Brasov
- HC Gjorche Petrov-WHC AD Skopje
- Tertnes Bergen
- LC Brühl Handball
- DHK Banik Most
- Molde Elite
- ŽRK Crvena Zvezda
- WHC Bjelovar
- ŽRK Zrinski Čakovec
- TUSSIES Metzingen
- GC Amicitia Zürich
- AEK
- Hypo Niederösterreich
- Skara HF
- St. Amand Handball - Porte du Hainaut
- OGC Nice Cote d'Azur Handball
- KRASON MKS Piotrcovia
- Boden Handboll IF
- ŽRK Naisa Niš
EHF European League Women 2026/27 qualification round 3
The 16 winning sides from qualification round 2 will proceed to qualification round 3, where a further eight clubs await. Qualification round 3 will be played on 7–8 and 14–15 November 2026.
The draw for this phase of the competition is set to take place on 13 October 2026.
The eight clubs starting their EHF European League 2026/27 campaigns in round 3 are:
- HC Dunarea Braila
- HSG Bensheim/Auerbach Flames
- HC Lokomotiva Zagreb
- Málaga Costa del Sol
- KGHM MKS Zaglebie Lubin
- Super Amara Bera Bera
- Házená Kynžvart
- MOL Esztergom
EHF European League Women 2026/27 group phase
From the 24 ties in qualification round 3, 12 successful teams will continue to the group phase. The group phase, played in a round-robin format, is scheduled for early 2027, starting on 9 January and concluding on 21 February, and the draw for that stage will be conducted on 19 November 2026.
The four teams seeded directly for the group phase are:
- defending champions JDA Bourgogne Dijon
- Thüringer HC
- Ikast Håndbold
- DVSC Skyline
From the group phase, eight teams progress to the last obstacle before the EHF Finals, the quarter-finals. No draw occurs for this phase, with the pairings determined based on rankings in the groups. The quarter-finals will take place on 20–21 and 27–28 March 2027, and the EHF Finals, for which there will be a draw on a date yet to be decided, are scheduled for 8–9 May.
Visit the Home of Handball YouTube channel to follow the draw, on 14 July at 11:00 CEST, live.
