Handball Champions League enters a new era with 24 clubs, Zagreb opens against Celje
The Men's EHF Champions League enters a season on 9 September 2026 that brings the biggest change to the competition system in recent years. Instead of the previous 16 clubs, 24 teams now take part in Europe's elite competition, divided into six groups of four, while the new model connects the Champions League and the EHF European League much more directly than before. According to the official explanation from the European Handball Federation, the change is designed to expand the number of participants, maintain a high number of matches between the leading clubs and at the same time simplify the final part of the season. The first phase runs from 9 September to 29 October, and four matches in the opening time slot begin on Wednesday at 18:45 Central European Summer Time. Among them is the clash between HC Zagreb and RK Celje Pivovarna Laško at Arena Zagreb, in which the Croatian champions begin their 33rd season in Europe's strongest club competition.
Ahead of the start of the season, the EHF particularly highlighted that Zagreb has made more Champions League appearances than any other club, while Celje returns to the elite competition after a three-year absence. The Slovenian champions enter their 26th season among Europe's elite, so the opening of Group C brings together two clubs with a long continental history. Aalborg Håndbold and Paris Saint-Germain are also in the same group, leaving Zagreb and Celje very little room for a slow start to the season. Each team plays only six matches in the first phase, one at home and one away against each opponent, so every point will carry greater weight than in the previous system with groups of eight clubs. The two best teams from Group C will qualify for the continuation of the competition in the main round, while the third- and fourth-placed teams will continue their European season in the EHF European League play-offs.
Six groups of four and a completely different route to the final stages
According to the model officially presented by the EHF at the end of July, the 2026/27 Champions League consists of four main phases: the group phase, main round, quarter-finals and the EHF FINAL4 final tournament. In the first part, 24 clubs play in six groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing. Those 12 clubs are then divided into two groups of six in the main round: clubs from Groups A, B and C enter one group, while those from Groups D, E and F enter the other. The result against the team that also advances from the same initial group is carried over into the main round, while home and away matches are played against the new opponents. The EHF states that each club will play eight new matches in that phase, meaning that the route to the quarter-finals will be structured differently but will still require a long period of consistent results.
The top four teams from each main-round group will qualify for the quarter-finals. The fifth-placed teams from both groups move into the EHF European League round of 16, while the European season ends for the sixth-placed teams. The EHF has retained the existing format for the quarter-finals and final tournament, and the FINAL4 for the 2026/27 season is scheduled for 12 and 13 June 2027. The new structure also means that all teams reaching the final tournament will have played the same number of matches, a total of 18 before the competition concludes through the group phase, main round, quarter-finals and FINAL4. In the previous system, the route to the final stages was not the same for everyone because the best teams from the groups could skip the play-offs and qualify directly for the quarter-finals.
The expansion from 16 to 24 participants is not merely a cosmetic change. The EHF made the decision back in October 2025, following discussions with clubs, leagues and national federations, alongside a parallel reform of the European League. In practice, a system has been created in which teams that fail to progress through certain stages of the Champions League are not immediately eliminated from all European competitions, but some of them continue the season in the EHF's second-tier club competition. According to the federation's explanation, this should increase the number of relevant European matches and reduce the gap between the two competitions. For clubs such as Zagreb, which find themselves in an extremely demanding group, this simultaneously means that the goal of finishing in the top two is clearly defined, but that third or fourth place no longer means the immediate end of the European season.
Zagreb and Celje open Group C at Arena Zagreb
Zagreb's first opponent in the new format is a familiar one. According to EHF data and Zagreb's official club preview, Zagreb and Celje had played 24 head-to-head matches in Europe's elite competition before this game. Celje holds a narrow advantage with 12 wins, Zagreb has won 11 times, and one match ended in a draw. They last met in the group phase of the 2020/21 season, when Celje won both matches, 30:22 in Zagreb and 29:28 in Slovenia. The EHF also states that the Slovenian team enters the new encounter on a run of five consecutive wins over Zagreb in their European head-to-head meetings since 2018.
The rivalry also has a much deeper historical dimension. According to Zagreb's club records, the first European meetings between the two clubs date back to 1992, when they faced each other in the European Champions Cup. Celje won the first match 18:17, while Zagreb won the return leg 26:17 and continued on the path toward a second consecutive European championship title. Zagreb reached the continental summit in 1992 and 1993, while Celje achieved its greatest European success by winning the Champions League in 2004. The two clubs therefore have three European championship titles between them, and they have also met in the latter stages of the competition, including the semi-finals of the 1997/98 season, when Zagreb qualified for the final.
Such history adds further importance to the opening round, but the sporting context in 2026 is significantly different from that of earlier periods. Zagreb comes into the season after a difficult 2025/26 European campaign in which, according to the EHF, it finished last in its group with one win from 14 matches. The club changed its coach and a significant part of the squad during the summer. New coach Hrvoje Horvat arrived after working at Kadetten Schaffhausen, while among the more notable reinforcements the EHF highlights Manuel Štrlek and Croatian international Marko Mamić. In the club's official match preview, Horvat said that the preparation period had been demanding because of eight new players and new tactical requirements, but that the team was ready for the start of the European season.
Horvat puts the emphasis on defence and stopping transition play
Ahead of the match against Celje, Zagreb focused most of its public preview on the defensive aspect. According to the club's report from the press conference, Horvat explained that a great deal of time during preparations had been devoted to getting back in defence, making substitutions at the right time and organising the 6-0 and 5-1 systems. He particularly warned about Celje's speed in transition and the quality of the Slovenian players in one-on-one situations. His assessment is that Zagreb must stop the first and second waves of the opponent's counter-attack in order to have time to set up its defence and impose a rhythm that suits it better. This is an important detail in a match in which both teams enter with no room for a long adjustment period, because the new group-phase format lasts only six rounds.
Marko Mamić also described Celje in the club preview as a young, fast and talented team and stressed the importance of Zagreb taking control of the rhythm on home court. His return to Croatian club handball is one of the moves with which Zagreb has attempted to increase experience and physical strength in the squad. Together with Štrlek, who has also returned to the club with extensive international experience, Zagreb gains players accustomed to matches at the highest European level. However, the opener against Celje will immediately show how successfully the new team has managed to connect the changes from the preparation period with the competitive demands of the Champions League.
Zagreb played its final official match before the European opener on 5 September in the Croatian league and defeated Bjelovar 34:21, according to data published on the club's official website. That result provided a positive foundation in terms of results ahead of a significantly more demanding European test, but also confirmation of some defensive elements that the coaching staff worked on during the summer. Horvat clearly distinguished the domestic league match from the level of the Champions League, so the game against Celje can be viewed as the first real indicator of the rebuilt team's potential. It is particularly important for Zagreb to make use of home advantage because the first round is followed by an away match against one of Europe's biggest clubs.
Celje returns to the elite after three years
Celje arrives in Zagreb in a different situation. The EHF states that the Slovenian champions are returning to the Champions League after a three-year absence, and that in the 2025/26 season they reached the semi-finals of the EHF European Cup. Returning to the highest level of European club handball brings significantly stronger competition, but the club from Celje has a long tradition of developing players and regularly appearing on the international stage. One of the more important returning players is Gašper Marguč, who has returned to his boyhood club after 12 years at Veszprém. Ahead of the opening round, the EHF singles him out as one of the key experienced names in a squad that combines young players with handballers possessing extensive international experience.
It is precisely the combination of experience and speed that will be one of the key elements of the Slovenian approach in Zagreb. Celje does not carry the burden of results from last season's Champions League because it did not participate in it, but it is returning to a competition whose new system is very demanding for clubs that are only just re-entering the highest level. Six matches in less than two months leave little time to correct a poor start. For that reason, the clash against Zagreb is not only a traditional regional derby, but also a direct meeting between two clubs that, in a group with Aalborg and Paris Saint-Germain, will probably be looking for points that could prove decisive in the battle for the top two places. Nevertheless, before the start of the competition it is not possible to determine the balance of power reliably, especially after summer changes to the squads and the fact that Celje is returning after a multi-year absence.
Aalborg and Paris Saint-Germain raise the level of the group
The draw held on 26 June in Vienna placed Zagreb and Celje in Group C with Aalborg and Paris Saint-Germain. The EHF used four seeding pots in the draw and a rule protecting clubs from the same national federation, while additional allocation rules were intended to balance the halves of the competition that later merge in the main round. Aalborg entered the 2026/27 season after reaching the EHF FINAL4 in the previous season, while Paris Saint-Germain remains one of the clubs with the greatest continuity of appearances at the top of European handball. Their head-to-head match is also played on 9 September at 18:45 in Aalborg, so Group C will already have its first standings picture after the opening evening.
After Celje, Zagreb travels to Paris Saint-Germain on 16 September. Following the break, the Croatian champions host Aalborg on 8 October, then travel to Denmark on 14 October, play at home against the Parisian team on 21 October, and conclude the group phase on 28 October in Celje. That schedule, confirmed in the official EHF calendar and on Zagreb's club website, clearly shows how important the points from the opening match will be. Four of Zagreb's six rounds bring matches against clubs with serious ambitions for the final stages of the competition, while the two matches against Celje are positioned at the very beginning and end of the first phase.
Because of the new system, it is not only the final placing that matters, but also the identity of the other club that advances from the same group. The result against the opponent that qualifies for the main round together with a team is carried forward, so the head-to-head points between two qualified clubs remain relevant even after the October phase has ended. This further increases the value of direct clashes and reduces the number of matches that can be treated as less important in terms of results. For Group C, this means that every match between Zagreb, Celje, Aalborg and Paris Saint-Germain will potentially carry double significance: first in the battle for one of the two places, and then in a possible carry-over of points into the main round.
The new season begins simultaneously at four European venues
For the start of the season, the EHF selected four matches in the same time slot on 9 September at 18:45. In addition to Zagreb and Celje, One Veszprém HC and FC Porto, Aalborg Håndbold and Paris Saint-Germain, and Industria Kielce and HC Kriens-Luzern are also playing at that time. Other first-round matches are scheduled later in the evening, while the remaining games are played on 10 September. Defending champion Barça is in Group E in the new season and, according to the EHF, begins its title defence against debutant SAH Aarhus. The final goal for all 24 clubs remains qualification for the EHF FINAL4 in June 2027, but the new system leads to Cologne through a shorter and denser first phase and an expanded main round.
For Zagreb, the start of the competition carries additional historical significance because of its record 33rd Champions League appearance. Continuity of participation, however, does not guarantee results by itself, as last season demonstrated with only one win in the group phase. A new coach, eight new players and a changed competition structure create a situation in which previous results can be used as context, but not as a reliable prediction. The first answer comes on 9 September at Arena Zagreb against Celje, in the 25th European meeting between the two old rivals. In a season in which the EHF has expanded the elite competition to 24 clubs, this match in particular will be one of the first tests of how the new format works on the court and how quickly teams can turn summer changes into points.
Sources:
- European Handball Federation (EHF) - official explanation of the new EHF Champions League format for the 2026/27 season (link)
- European Handball Federation (EHF) - group composition after the draw and allocation of clubs in the new competition system (link)
- European Handball Federation (EHF) - official match times for the 2026/27 group phase and confirmation of the season opener on 9 September (link)
- European Handball Federation (EHF) - opening-round preview, Zagreb and Celje head-to-head record, Zagreb's 33rd appearance and the squad context of both teams (link)
- RK Zagreb - official preview of the match against Celje, history of head-to-head meetings and statements by Hrvoje Horvat and Marko Mamić (link)