2023–24 EHF European League

The 2023–24 EHF European League is the 43rd season of Europe's secondary club handball tournament organised by European Handball Federation (EHF), and the 4th season since it was renamed from the EHF Cup to the EHF European League. This is the first season under the new revamped format. The defending champions are Füchse Berlin.

EHF European League
2023–24
Tournament information
SportHandball
Dates26 August 202326 May 2024
Teams10 (qualification stage)
32 (group stage)
Websiteehfel.com
Final positions
ChampionsGermany SG Flensburg-Handewitt
(2nd title)
Runner-upGermany Füchse Berlin
Tournament statistics
Matches played148
Goals scored7,530 (50.88 per match)
MVPDenmark Emil Jakobsen[1]
Top scorer(s)Ukraine Andrii Akimenko
(95 goals)

SG Flensburg-Handewitt won their second title after winning an all-German final against defending champions Füchse Berlin.[2]

Format

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The tournament is divided in the following phases:[3]

  • Qualification round: 10 teams will be drawn into 5 different home and away ties. The 5 winners will advance to the group stage.
  • Group stage: The 27 teams already qualified along with the 5 winners of the qualification round will be drawn into 8 groups of 4 teams each, where they will play in a double round-robin format. The top 2 teams in each group will progress to the main round. Teams from the same country can't be drawn into the same group.
  • Main round: The 16 group winners and runners-up will be placed in 4 groups of 4 teams each where they will play a single round-robin. The winners will advance directly to the quarterfinals, while 2nd and 3rd placed teams will qualify for the play-offs.
  • Play-offs: The 2nd and 3rd placed teams from each group in the main round will play in 4 different home and away ties. The winners will progress to the quarterfinals.
  • Quarter-finals: The main round group winners will face a play-off winner to determine who makes it to the European League finals.
  • EL finals: They will be played in a Final 4 format similar to the Champions League.

Rankings

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The rankings are based on the performances of each club from a respective country from a three year period.This season, the EHF decided to make separate rankings for each club competition.[4]

  • Associations 1–2 can have four clubs qualify.
  • Associations 3–9 can have three clubs qualify.
  • Associations 10–18 can have two clubs qualify.
  • Associations below the top 18 are allowed to enter apply one club for a potential wildcard.

Qualified teams

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The full list of teams qualified for each stage of the 2023–24 EHF European League was announced on 10 July 2023.[6]

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:

  • EL: European League title holders
  • EC: European Cup title holders
  • CW: Cup winners
  • CR: Cup runners-up
  • 4th, 5th, etc.: League position of the previous season
Group stage
  Füchse Berlin (3rd)EL   Sporting CP (2nd)   HBC Nantes (3rd)   REBI BM Cuenca (2nd)
  Górnik Zabrze (3rd)   RK Nexe (2nd)   Bjerringbro-Silkeborg (3rd)   Kadetten Schaffhausen (1st)
  IFK Kristianstad (1st)   HC Alkaloid (2nd)   MOL-Tatabánya KC (3rd)   RK Gorenje Velenje (2nd)
  MŠK Považská Bystrica (1st)   Dinamo București (1st)   AEK Athens (1st)   Elverum Håndball (2nd)
  SG Flensburg-Handewitt (4th)   SL Benfica (3rd)   Chambéry Savoie MBH (4th)   Logroño La Rioja (CR)
  Chrobry Głogów (4th)   Skjern Håndbold (4th)   HC Kriens-Luzern (2nd)   IK Sävehof (2nd)
  RK Vojvodina (1st)EC WC   RK Izviđač (1st) WC   RK Lovćen (1st) WC
Qualification round
  Rhein-Neckar Löwen (5th)   ABC Braga (4th)   Fraikin BM Granollers (3rd)   Pfadi Winterthur (3rd)
  Ystads IF (3rd)   Vardar 1961 (3rd)   RK Trimo Trebnje (3rd)   CSM Constanța (CW)
  TSV Hannover-Burgdorf (6th)   Águas Santas Milaneza (5th)
  • WC Accepted Wildcard

Schedule

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All draws were held at the EHF headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

Phase Round Draw date Round date[7]
Qualification round First leg 18 July 2023 26–27 August 2023
Second leg 2–3 September 2023
Group stage Matchday 1 21 July 2023 17 October 2023
Matchday 2 24 October 2023
Matchday 3 14 November 2023
Matchday 4 21 November 2023
Matchday 5 28 November 2023
Matchday 6 5 December 2023
Main Round Matchday 7 13 February 2024
Matchday 8 20 February 2024
Matchday 9 27 February 2024
Matchday 10 5 March 2024
Play offs First leg no draw 26 March 2024
Second leg 2 April 2024
Quarterfinals First leg no draw 23 April 2024
Second leg 30 April 2025
Final four Semi-finals 3 May 2024[8] 25 May 2024
Final and Third place game 26 May 2024

Draw

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The Draw took place on the 21 July 2023.[9][10] The only restriction was that clubs from the same country cannot be in the same group.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4

  Füchse Berlin
  Sporting CP
  HBC Nantes
  REBI BM Cuenca
  Górnik Zabrze
  RK Nexe
  Bjerringbro-Silkeborg
  Kadetten Schaffhausen

  IFK Kristianstad
  HC Alkaloid
  MOL-Tatabánya KC
  RK Gorenje Velenje
  MŠK Považská Bystrica
  Dinamo București
  AEK Athens
  Elverum Håndball

  SG Flensburg-Handewitt
  SL Benfica
  Chambéry Savoie MBH
  Logroño La Rioja
  Chrobry Głogów
  Skjern Håndbold
  HC Kriens-Luzern
  IK Sävehof

  Play Off Winner 1[a]
  Play Off Winner 2[b]
  Play Off Winner 3[c]
  Play Off Winner 4[d]
  Play Off Winner 5[e]
  RK Vojvodina
  RK Izviđač
  RK Lovćen

  1. ^ The eventual team in this slot was TSV Hannover-Burgdorf.
  2. ^ The eventual team in this slot was ABC Braga
  3. ^ The eventual team in this slot was Pfadi Winterthur
  4. ^ The eventual team in this slot was Rhein-Neckar Löwen
  5. ^ The eventual team in this slot was CSM Constanța

Qualification round

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The draw for the qualification round was conducted on 18 July 2023. The first legs will be held on 26–27 August 2023 while the second legs will be held on 2–3 September 2023.[11]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Ystads IF   49–63   TSV Hannover-Burgdorf 28–33 21–30
RK Trimo Trebnje   57–58   ABC Braga 31–29 26–29
Águas Santas Milaneza   43–44   Pfadi Winterthur 24–22 19–22
Vardar 1961   58–71   Rhein-Neckar Löwen 25–34 33–37
CSM Constanța   52–51   Fraikin BM Granollers 27–29 25–22 PS

Group stage

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The draw for the group stage was conducted on 21 July 2023 at the EHF office in Vienna.[9][12]

In the group stage, teams were ranked according to points (2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). After completion of the group stage, if two or more teams have scored the same number of points, the ranking will be determined as follows:

Tiebreakers
  1. Highest number of points in matches between the teams directly involved;
  2. Superior goal difference in matches between the teams directly involved;
  3. Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams directly involved;
  4. Superior goal difference in all matches of the group;
  5. Highest number of plus goals in all matches of the group;
  6. Drawing of Lots

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification NAN RHE BEN KRI
1   HBC Nantes 6 5 0 1 201 177 +24 10[a] Main round 32–25 37–28 31–27
2   Rhein-Neckar Löwen 6 5 0 1 198 177 +21 10[a] 36–32 39–30 36–28
3   SL Benfica 6 2 0 4 194 210 −16 4 34–38 35–36 36–33
4   IFK Kristianstad 6 0 0 6 162 191 −29 0 27–31 20–26 27–31
Source: EHF
Notes:
  1. ^ a b HBC Nantes 64–61 Rhein-Neckar Löwen

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification HAN GOZ LUZ AEK
1   TSV Hannover-Burgdorf 6 5 1 0 192 164 +28 11 Main round 34–28 30–30 31–25
2   Górnik Zabrze 6 3 1 2 179 171 +8 7 29–32 32–28 30–21
3   HC Kriens-Luzern 6 1 2 3 179 180 −1 4 23–31 30–30 39–27
4   AEK Athens 6 1 0 5 158 193 −35 2 29–34 26–30 30–29
Source: EHF

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SAV GOR CUE WIN
1   IK Sävehof 6 5 1 0 207 160 +47 11 Main round 36–34 40–27 41–20
2   RK Gorenje Velenje 6 2 1 3 182 170 +12 5 28–28 28–20 34–26
3   REBI BM Cuenca 6 2 0 4 153 181 −28 4[a] 22–30 28–27 28–24
4   Pfadi Winterthur 6 2 0 4 163 194 −31 4[a] 29–32 32–31 32–28
Source: EHF
Notes:
  1. ^ a b REBI BM Cuenca 56–56 Pfadi Winterthur. Placement decided on goal difference.

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification NEX SKJ BRA POV
1   RK Nexe 6 5 0 1 215 172 +43 10 Main round 39–25 38–28 35–28
2   Skjern Håndbold 6 4 0 2 191 172 +19 8 33–30 32–25 42–22
3   ABC Braga 6 2 0 4 173 188 −15 4 30–34 25–32 31–26
4   MŠK Považská Bystrica 6 1 0 5 161 208 −47 2 28–39 31–27 26–34
Source: EHF

Group E

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification FLE KAD ELV LOV
1   SG Flensburg-Handewitt 6 5 0 1 218 162 +56 10 Main round 46–32 38–35 42–19
2   Kadetten Schaffhausen 6 4 0 2 181 183 −2 8 25–24 32–30 36–26
3   Elverum Håndball 6 3 0 3 192 181 +11 6 32–33 31–27 37–25
4   RK Lovćen 6 0 0 6 141 206 −65 0 19–35 26–29 26–27
Source: EHF

Group F

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SIL VOJ ALK LOG
1   Bjerringbro-Silkeborg 6 5 0 1 183 158 +25 10 Main round 26–22 35–31 34–25
2   RK Vojvodina 6 4 0 2 172 163 +9 8 29–28 34–29 24–25
3   HC Alkaloid 6 1 1 4 166 187 −21 3[a] 23–31 26–31 28–27
4   Logroño La Rioja 6 1 1 4 163 176 −13 3[a] 28–29 29–32 29–29
Source: EHF
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head to head points: HC Alkaloid 3–1 Logroño La Rioja

Group G

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification FUC BUC CHA IZV
1   Füchse Berlin 6 6 0 0 194 160 +34 12 Main round 33–30 24–22 34–23
2   Dinamo București 6 4 0 2 218 168 +50 8 32–33 36–33 52–24
3   Chambéry Savoie MBH 6 2 0 4 181 181 0 4 31–36 21–28 34–30
4   RK Izviđač 6 0 0 6 150 234 −84 0 22–34 24–40 27–40
Source: EHF

Group H

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification CON SPO TAT CHR
1   CSM Constanța 6 4 1 1 172 158 +14 9 Main round 29–28 28–25 29–18
2   Sporting CP 6 4 0 2 199 158 +41 8 34–28 36–28 37–20
3   MOL-Tatabánya KC 6 3 0 3 175 171 +4 6 24–29 31–29 37–24
4   Chrobry Głogów 6 0 1 5 138 197 −59 1 29–29 22–35 25–30
Source: EHF

Main round

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In the main round, the remaining sixteen teams merge into four groups of four, where they play the teams they didn't play in the group stage. Points from the group stage against the teams that advanced with each other are carried over. At the end of the main round, The four group winners advance to the quarter-finals, while the 2nd and 3rd place teams qualify for the play-offs.

Group I

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification NAN RHE HAN GOZ
1   HBC Nantes 6 5 0 1 197 164 +33 10 Quarter-finals 32–25 33–26 31–23
2   Rhein-Neckar Löwen 6 4 0 2 173 166 +7 8 Play-offs 36–32 27–26 27–23
3   TSV Hannover-Burgdorf 6 2 0 4 174 187 −13 4 32–38 24–32 34–28
4   Górnik Zabrze 6 1 0 5 154 181 −27 2 22–31 29–26 29–32
Source: EHF

Group II

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SKJ SAV NEX GOR
1   Skjern Håndbold 6 4 0 2 194 185 +9 8 Quarter-finals 33–34 33–30 45–31
2   IK Sävehof 6 3 1 2 187 181 +6 7[a] Play-offs 27–29 34–28 36–34
3   RK Nexe 6 3 1 2 187 174 +13 7[a] 39–25 29–28 34–27
4   RK Gorenje Velenje 6 0 2 4 171 199 −28 2 24–29 28–28 27–27
Source: EHF
Notes:
  1. ^ a b IK Sävehof 62–57 RK Nexe

Group III

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification FLE SIL KAD VOJ
1   SG Flensburg-Handewitt 6 5 0 1 231 167 +64 10 Quarter-finals 38–28 46–32 42–30
2   Bjerringbro-Silkeborg 6 3 0 3 178 197 −19 6 Play-offs 26–45 36–30 26–22
3   Kadetten Schaffhausen 6 2 0 4 168 188 −20 4[a] 25–24 33–34 27–24
4   RK Vojvodina 6 2 0 4 155 180 −25 4[a] 26–36 29–28 24–21
Source: EHF
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Kadetten Schaffhausen 48–48 RK Vojvodina. Placement decided on goal difference.

Group IV

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SPO FUC BUC CON
1   Sporting CP 6 5 0 1 192 176 +16 10 Quarter-finals 32–28 35–33 34–28
2   Füchse Berlin 6 4 0 2 192 186 +6 8 Play-offs 31–32 33–30 35–30
3   Dinamo București 6 2 0 4 188 180 +8 4 27–31 32–33 33–23
4   CSM Constanța 6 1 0 5 165 195 −30 2 29–28 29–32 25–33
Source: EHF

Knockout stage

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In the playoffs, the eight teams ranked 2nd–3rd in Main round Groups I-IV play against each other in two-legged home-and-away matches. The four winning teams advance to the quarterfinals, where they are joined by the top teams of Main round Groups I-IV for another round of two-legged home-and-away matches. The four quarterfinal winners qualify for the final four tournament at the Barclays Arena in Hamburg, Germany.[13]

Playoffs

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Overview

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
RK Nexe   48–55   Rhein-Neckar Löwen 19–24 29–31
TSV Hannover-Burgdorf   59–64   IK Sävehof 34–30 25–34
Dinamo București   64–58   Bjerringbro-Silkeborg 37–34 27–24
Kadetten Schaffhausen   56–66   Füchse Berlin 28–32 28–34
Matches
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26 March 2024
20:45
RK Nexe   19–24   Rhein-Neckar Löwen Sportska dvorana kralja Tomislava, Našice
Attendance: 2,000
Referees: Andorka, Hucker (HUN)
Marguč 4 (11–13) Reichmann 7
  1×  Report  
2 April 2024
20:45
Rhein-Neckar Löwen   31–29   RK Nexe SNP Dome, Heidelberg
Attendance: 2,974
Referees: Erdoğan, Özdeniz (TUR)
Kohlbacher 8 (16–16) Bezjak, Vejin 7
 3×  Report  3× 

26 March 2024
20:45
TSV Hannover-Burgdorf   34–30   IK Sävehof Swiss Life Hall, Hannover
Attendance: 2,305
Referees: Metalari, Nikolovski (MKD)
Edvardsson 8 (18–14) Wedberg 12
 3×  Report   2× 
2 April 2024
18:45
IK Sävehof   34–25   TSV Hannover-Burgdorf Partille Arena, Partille
Attendance: 2,138
Referees: Bíró, Kiss (HUN)
Möller, Wedberg 7 (18–14) Kulesh 6
  3×  Report  5× 

26 March 2024
18:45
Dinamo București   37–34   Bjerringbro-Silkeborg Dinamo Polyvalent Hall, Bucharest
Attendance: 2,300
Referees: Cacador, Nicolau (POR)
Rosta 9 (18–16) Bogojevic, Lenbroch 7
 1×  Report   2× 
2 April 2024
18:45
Bjerringbro-Silkeborg   24–27   Dinamo București Jysk Arena, Silkeborg
Attendance: 1,811
Referees: Álvarez, Bustamante (ESP)
Hallbäck 6 (8–16) Akimenko 7
  3×  Report  2× 

26 March 2024
18:45
Kadetten Schaffhausen   28–32   Füchse Berlin BBC Arena, Schaffhausen
Attendance: 3,500
Referees: Vesovic, Mitrovic (MNE)
Martinović 7 (15–16) Gidsel 9
  3×  Report   4× 
2 April 2024
20:45
Füchse Berlin   34–28   Kadetten Schaffhausen Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin
Attendance: 4,717
Referees: Kull, Tint (EST)
Gidsel, Lichtlein 7 (18–11) Ríkharðsson 8
  3×  Report  3× 

Quarterfinals

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Overview

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Füchse Berlin   70–63   HBC Nantes 33–33 37–30
Dinamo București   66–61   Skjern Håndbold 28–27 38–34
IK Sävehof   59–69   SG Flensburg-Handewitt 30–41 29–28
Rhein-Neckar Löwen   60–58   Sporting CP 32–29 28–29
Matches
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23 April 2024
20:45
Füchse Berlin   33–33   HBC Nantes Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin
Attendance: 7,179
Referees: Budzak, Zahradnik (SVK)
Gidsel 9 (17–15) Minne 10
 2×  Report  4× 
30 April 2024
20:45
HBC Nantes   30–37   Füchse Berlin H Arena, Nantes
Attendance: 5,902
Referees: Leszczynski, Piechota (POL)
Rivera 6 (16–18) Andersson 9
 4×  1×  Report  2× 

23 April 2024
18:45
Dinamo București   28–27   Skjern Håndbold Dinamo Polyvalent Hall, Bucharest
Attendance: 2,538
Referees: Thiyagarajah, Thiyagarajah (GER)
Kukić 7 (14–15) Nazaré 6
 4×  Report  3× 
30 April 2024
18:45
Skjern Håndbold   34–38   Dinamo București Skjern Bank Arena, Skjern
Attendance: 3,178
Referees: Bolic, Hurich (AUT)
Gaudin 10 (12–20) Kuduz 8
 3×  1×  Report  3×  1× 

23 April 2024
18:45
IK Sävehof   30–41   SG Flensburg-Handewitt Partille Arena, Partille
Attendance: 4,408
Referees: Cindric, Gonzurek (CRO)
Berlin, Mittún 6 (14–22) Jakobsen 9
  2×  Report   2× 
30 April 2024
18:45
SG Flensburg-Handewitt   28–29   IK Sävehof Flens-Arena, Flensburg
Attendance: 4,825
Referees: Horváth, Marton (HUN)
three players 5 (11–15) Westby 5
  3×  Report   2× 

23 April 2024
20:45
Rhein-Neckar Löwen   32–29   Sporting CP SNP Dome, Heidelberg
Attendance: 2,773
Referees: Mitrevski, Todorovski (MKD)
Kirkeløkke 10 (19–14) F. Costa 9
 5×  Report   4× 
30 April 2024
20:45
Sporting CP   29–28   Rhein-Neckar Löwen Pavilhão João Rocha, Lisbon
Attendance: 2,407
Referees: Tzaferopoulos, Bethmann (GRE)
F. Costa 11 (15–12) Reichmann 7
  6×  Report   4× 

Final Four

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The final four will held at the Barclays Arena in Hamburg, Germany on 25 and 26 May 2024.[14] The draw took place on 3 May 2024.

Bracket

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Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
25 May
 
 
  SG Flensburg-Handewitt38
 
26 May
 
  Dinamo București32
 
  SG Flensburg-Handewitt36
 
25 May
 
  Füchse Berlin31
 
  Rhein-Neckar Löwen24
 
 
  Füchse Berlin33
 
Third place
 
 
26 May
 
 
  Dinamo București31
 
 
  Rhein-Neckar Löwen32

Semifinals

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25 May 2024
15:00
SG Flensburg-Handewitt   38–32   Dinamo București Barclays Arena, Hamburg
Attendance: 8,600
Referees: Mazeika, Gatelis (LIT)
Jakobsen 11 (18–11) Akimenko 7
  5×  Report   3× 

25 May 2024
18:00
Rhein-Neckar Löwen   24–33   Füchse Berlin Barclays Arena, Hamburg
Attendance: 9,400
Referees: Jurinovic, Mrvica (CRO)
Knorr 7 (9–14) Andersson, Gidsel 7
 2×  Report   3× 

Third place game

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26 May 2024
15:00
Dinamo București   31–32   Rhein-Neckar Löwen Barclays Arena, Hamburg
Attendance: 9,400
Referees: Budzak, Zahradnik (SVK)
Rosta 6 (15–18) Kirkeløkke, Kohlbacher 6
 1×  Report  1× 

Final

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26 May 2024
18:00
SG Flensburg-Handewitt   36–31   Füchse Berlin Barclays Arena, Hamburg
Attendance: 10,050
Referees: Álvarez, Bustamante (ESP)
Jakobsen 7 (15–14) Tollbring 7
  4×  1×  Report   4×  1× 

Top goalscorers

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Rank Player Club Goals[15]
1   Andrii Akimenko   Dinamo București 95
2   Niclas Kirkeløkke   Rhein-Neckar Löwen 94
3   Juri Knorr   Rhein-Neckar Löwen 91
4   Mathias Gidsel   Füchse Berlin 82
5   Lasse Andersson   Füchse Berlin 78
6   Jannik Kohlbacher   Rhein-Neckar Löwen 77
7   Francisco Costa   Sporting CP 72
  Gustaf Wedberg   IK Sävehof
9   Óðinn Þór Ríkharðsson   Kadetten Schaffhausen 71
10   Lasse Møller   SG Flensburg-Handewitt 69

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "MVP Emil Jakobsen: "Gold more important than individual award"". ehfel.eurohandball.com.
  2. ^ "Flensburg end 10-year European trophy drought". ehfel.eurohandball.com.
  3. ^ "EHF European League Men 2023/24 Format". EHF. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  4. ^ "EHF improves club competitions ranking system". eurohandball.com. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  5. ^ Place distribution eurohandball.com
  6. ^ "EHF European League Men 2023/24 Seeding". EHF. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  7. ^ https://www.eurohandball.com/media/2rtiwitv/ehfel_men_system_2023_24.pdf
  8. ^ https://ehfel.eurohandball.com/men/2023-24/news/en/four-teams-await-semi-final-draw-for-ehf-finals-men/
  9. ^ a b EHF European League Men groups to be revealed EHF 18 July 2023
  10. ^ Group phase draw eurohandball.com
  11. ^ European League Men throws up exciting qualification ties EHF 18 July 2023
  12. ^ Revamped European League taking shape after group stage draw EHF 21 July 2023
  13. ^ Final EXEC meeting in 2023 brings major decisions for 2024 EHF 18 December 2023
  14. ^ "Hamburg and Graz to host EHF Finals 2024". www.eurohandball.com.
  15. ^ "Player Stats". ehfel.eurohandball.com.