Calendar out! In June, the draw was made to determine who SC Magdeburg would face in the group stage of the EHF Champions League this year. Now the European Handball Federation has announced the match dates.
The Norwegian champion Kolstadt IL, the Polish champion Industria Kielce and the Swiss champion HC Kriens-Luzern – the team of SCM coach Bennet Wiegert has caught a balanced group this year. While the Swiss club around former Bundesliga MVP Andy Schmid is represented in the Champions League for the first time, the Scandinavians have been regular guests in the EHF Champions League for several years with ex-Magdeburg player Magnus Gullerud.
Kielce, on the other hand, managed to secure the title in 2016 and has since been regularly in the knockout phase, if not in the final4. Under new coach Krzysztof Lijewski, who has also played in Hamburg and with the Rhein-Neckar-Löwen, the team wants to attack again this year.
As always in the Champions League, SCM can face some challenges. The team will start at home against Kolstad before the trip to Switzerland and the two matches against Kielce follow.
Due to the restructuring of the EHF Champions League, 24 clubs will compete against each other in Europe’s highest competition this year. Initially, the clubs will start in six groups of four. The top two then qualify for the main round, while the third and fourth-placed teams continue the season in the EHF European League.
In the main round, the new format provides for two groups of six. The best four will then advance to the quarterfinals. For fifth place, they will then continue in the EHF European League, the bottom of the group will be eliminated. The semi-finals and final will be played as usual at the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 in Cologne. This will take place on June 12 and 13, 2027 in the LANXESS arena.
As in previous years, SCM is once again offering a Champions Card for home games in the GETEC Arena.
