Men's and women's teams await fate as EHF Youth Club Trophy returns

As with the inaugural men's tournament in 2025, the two competitions will each see 16 youth teams split into four qualification tournaments played in different venues across Europe.

Three tournaments in each competition will have a designated host club, while Porec in Croatia will play host to one qualification tournament for both the men's and women's events.

The qualification tournaments will follow a knockout format, with teams playing semi-finals, with the winners advancing to the final and the losers meeting in the third-place match.

Qualification tournament winners advance to final event in June

The winner of each qualification tournament will advance to the final tournament, scheduled to be played across the weekends of the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 in Cologne (13/14 June) and the Raiffeisen Bank EHF FINAL4 in Budapest (6/7 June), crowing the winners of the EHF Youth Club Trophy on the biggest stages of European club handball.

Last year, GOG from Denmark beat Veszprém Handball Academy in the final of the men's competition. Both teams are back again this time, alongside a whole host of the most recognisable clubs in the sport.

Still to be determined are the semi-final pairings for each qualification tournament. They will be known after the draw event for the men's and women's competitions, which will take place at 11:30 CET on Tuesday 24 February.

You can watch the draw live on the EHF Home of Handball YouTube channel or by clicking the video embedded below come draw time.

EHF Youth Club Trophy qualification tournaments

The eight qualification tournament are set to take place between Saturday 28 March and Friday 2 April 2026. The details of which, including the host venues and participating clubs, are shown below.

EHF Youth Club Trophy Men

QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT 1 - Bucharest (ROU)

Saturday 28 to Sunday 29 March

GOG (DEN)
HBC Nantes (FRA)
Sporting CP (POR)
CS Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU, host)

Semi-finals at 15:00 and 17:30 CET; finals at 15:00 and 17:30 CEST.

QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT 2 - Porec (CRO)

Monday 30 to Tuesday 31 March

HC Zagreb (CRO)
Aalborg Håndbold (DEN)
Füchse Berlin (GER)
HC Eurofarm Pelister (MKD)

Semi-finals at 12:00 and 14:30 CEST; finals at 14:00 and 16:30 CEST.

QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT 3 - Szeged (HUN)

Tuesday 31 March to Wednesday 1 April

Barça (ESP)
OTP Bank – PICK Szeged (HUN, host)
Kolstad Håndball (NOR)
Orlen Wisla Plock (POL)

Semi-finals at 15:00 and 18:00 CEST; finals at 15:00 and 17:00 CEST.

QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT 4 - Veszprém (HUN)

Thursday 2 to Friday 3 April

Paris Saint-Germain Handball (FRA)
SC Magdeburg (GER)
Veszprem Handball Academy (HUN, host)
KSS Iskra Kielce (POL)

Semi-finals at 13:30 and 16:00 CEST; finals at 15:30 and 18:00 CEST.

EHF Youth Club Trophy Women

QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT 1 - Porec (CRO)

Sunday 29 to Monday 30 March

Hypo Niederösterreich (AUT)
HC Podravka (CRO)
Györi ETO KC (HUN)
OTP Group Buducnost (MNE)

Semi-finals at 16:00 and 18:30 CEST; finals at 17:00 and 19:30 CEST.

QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT 2 - Zagreb (CRO)

Tuesday 31 March to Wednesday 1 April

HC Lokomotiva Zagreb (CRO, host)
Ikast Håndbold (DEN)
FTC (HUN)
Krim OTP Group Mercator (SLO)

Semi-finals at 12:00 and 14:00 CEST; finals at 12:00 and 14:00 CEST.

QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT 3 - Bistrita (ROU)

Thursday 2 April to Friday 3 April

Team Esbjerg (DEN)
BV Borussia Dortmund (GER)
DVSC Schaeffler (HUN)
CS Gloria Bistrita (ROU, host)

Semi-finals at 16:00 and 18:30 CEST; finals at 16:00 and 18:30 CEST.

QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT 4 - Ankara (TUR)

Thursday 2 April to Friday 3 April

Odense Håndbold (DEN)
Metz Handball (FRA)
CSM Bucuresti (ROU)
Kepez BSK (TUR)

Semi-finals at 12:00 and 14:30 CET; finals at 12:00 and 14:30 CEST.

Photos © Jozo Cabraja / kolektiff