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Women's EHF Champions League
The Women's EHF Champions League sees sixteen teams competing to be crowned champions of Europe, and in this Women's EHF Champions League preview and betting guide, we take a look at the new season alongside the tournament's previous winners.
The competition was created in 1961 and was previously known as the 'European Champions Cup'. Romanian side Știința București won the first-ever tournament, beating Dynamo Prague 13-5 on aggregate across the two-legged final.
However, it was Spartak Kyiv who dominated the early years: between 1970 and 1988 the Soviet Union side won a total of thirteen titles, and before that the Soviet Union also claimed titles through Trud Moscow (1963) and Žalgiris Kaunas (1967-68).
The tournament changed its name in 1993 to the EHF Women's Champions League and adopted a group and knockout system, which was used right up until the 2012-13 season.
The following season saw the EHF Final Four format introduced, where the final games of the season are staged in one location over a single weekend: the two semi-finals on Saturday, followed by the third-place game and the final on Sunday. This season's Final Four takes place at the MVM Dome in Budapest on 29-30 May 2027.
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2026-27 Women's EHF Champions League Preview
Metz won their first-ever Champions League title in 2026 on their first-ever final appearance, beating the treble-seeking Győri Audi ETO KC 31-29 in the final.
This used to be a tournament where you could reliably expect the Scandinavian countries to succeed. Between 2004 and 2011, all but one winner (Zvezda Zvenigorod in 2008) came from a Scandinavian nation, with Larvik HK the last of them in 2011. That made Vipers Kristiansand's 2021 triumph notable as the first Scandinavian success since Larvik, and the first of the Final Four era.
Most Successful Women's EHF Champions League Nations
| Rank | Nation | Wins | Runners-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Soviet Union | 16 | 3 |
| 2nd | Hungary | 9 | 12 |
| 3rd | Austria | 8 | 5 |
| 4th | Denmark | 7 | 6 |
| 5th | Norway | 4 | 2 |
There have been plenty of back-to-back winners of this tournament in the past, so for Metz to retain their title would be no great surprise.
Metz reached the semi-finals in 2022, 2024 & 2025, and after their win in 2026, they are certainly a team to watch this season in defence of their title.
If you are planning on placing bets on this season's Women's EHF Champions League, take a look at our latest handball betting tips from the OLBG community, and head to our Best Bookie for Handball Betting to see who ranks best.
2026-27 Women's EHF Champions League Groups
The 2026-27 Women's EHF Champions League group stage features sixteen teams split into two groups of eight, with the campaign getting under way on 5 September 2026. Defending champions Metz Handball and beaten finalists Győri Audi ETO KC both land in Group B, while Group A is headlined by Team Esbjerg and CSM București.
The format rewards a strong group campaign. The team finishing top of each group advances directly to the quarter-finals, sides placed second to sixth drop into the play-offs for the remaining last-eight berths, and the bottom two in each group are eliminated.
Group A
| Team | Country |
|---|---|
| Team Esbjerg | Denmark |
| CSM București | Romania |
| FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria | Hungary |
| Brest Bretagne Handball | France |
| RK Krim Mercator | Slovenia |
| Borussia Dortmund | Germany |
| Sola HK | Norway |
| OTP Group Budućnost | Montenegro |
Group B
| Team | Country |
|---|---|
| Metz Handball | France |
| Győri Audi ETO KC | Hungary |
| Odense Håndbold | Denmark |
| CS Gloria Bistrița | Romania |
| HC Podravka Vegeta | Croatia |
| Storhamar HE | Norway |
| HSG Blomberg-Lippe | Germany |
| Nykøbing Falster | Denmark |
Women's EHF Champions League Past Winners
Vipers Kristiansand became the first Norwegian winner of the tournament since Larvik HK in 2011, when they triumphed in 2021, and backed that up with further success in both 2022 & 2023, whilst Metz Handball became the first-ever French winner in 2026.
In recent years, it has been the Central and Southeastern European countries that have dominated the tournament. Since 2012, the winners have come from Hungary (Győri Audi ETO KC x7), Montenegro (ŽRK Budućnost x2) and Romania (CSM București), the only exceptions being the three won by Norway's Vipers Kristiansand and Metz's 2026 triumph.
The Last Ten Women's EHF Champions League Champions
| Season | Champions | Score | Runners-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | Metz Handball | 31–29 | Győri Audi ETO KC |
| 2024–25 | Győri Audi ETO KC | 29–27 | Odense Håndbold |
| 2023–24 | Győri Audi ETO KC | 30–24 | SG BBM Bietigheim |
| 2022–23 | Vipers Kristiansand | 28–24 | Ferencvárosi TC |
| 2021–22 | Vipers Kristiansand | 33–31 | Győri Audi ETO KC |
| 2020–21 | Vipers Kristiansand | 34–28 | Brest Bretagne Handball |
| 2018–19 | Győri Audi ETO KC | 25–24 | Rostov-Don |
| 2017–18 | Győri Audi ETO KC | 27–26 | HC Vardar |
| 2016–17 | Győri Audi ETO KC | 31–30 (ET) | HC Vardar |
| 2015-16 | CSM București | 29–26 (Pens) | Győri Audi ETO KC |
*The 2019-20 tournament was cancelled
Women's EHF Champions League Betting Tips
The Women's EHF Champions League is very popular on OLBG, with plenty of handball tipsters getting involved — and not only with this tournament. We have dedicated handball tipsters predicting match outcomes daily, all of which you can find on our handball betting tips page.
If you are only interested in those who are showing profits, then the Best Handball Tipsters page is for you. Here you will find only tipsters who have made a profit over the past twelve months and who have open tips.
Five-Year Favourite Statistics
The favourite statistics highlight one thing in particular: the Women's Champions League is probably easier to call than the Men's Champions League, where the favourites' data is generally all over the place. This tournament has been fairly consistent across the last five seasons, with the winning favourites ranging from 71.21% to 77.10% and the five-season average sitting at 74.50% — meaning, on average, just over seven in ten favourites come in.
| Season | Favourites Won | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | 93–127 | 73.23% |
| 2022–23 | 101–131 | 77.10% |
| 2023–24 | 94–132 | 71.21% |
| 2024–25 | 94–126 | 74.60% |
| 2025–26 | 100–131 | 76.34% |
| Overall | 482–647 | 74.50% |
Five-Year Goal Statistics
The average number of goals per game across the last five seasons is 57.16, which shows you get plenty of high-scoring games — but the numbers drop off sharply at the top end. While the vast majority of games comfortably clear 47.5 points, once you get past 56.5 points, you are looking at fewer than half of all games (47%).
| Total Line | Games Over | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Over 47.5 | 600 | 92.45% |
| Over 50 | 522 | 80.43% |
| Over 52.5 | 464 | 71.49% |
| Over 55 | 375 | 57.78% |
| Over 57.5 | 305 | 47.00% |
| Over 60 | 205 | 31.59% |
Based on 649 Women's EHF Champions League games.
Women's EHF Champions League Most Wins
With the Soviet Union's dominance in the early years, it's no surprise that Spartak Kyiv tops the pile for titles won, having been crowned champions thirteen times. They now play as HC Spartak Kyiv in Ukraine.
Austrian club Hypo Niederösterreich, long a dominant force at home, sit second with eight wins, though their last final came in 2008 and their last title back in 2000. Hungary's Győri Audi ETO KC are the most successful side of the modern era, with seven wins between 2013 & 2025.
| Rank | Club | Champions | Runners-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Spartak Kyiv | 13 | 2 |
| 2nd | Hypo Niederösterreich | 8 | 5 |
| 3rd | Győri Audi ETO KC | 7 | 5 |
| 4th | Radnički Belgrade | 3 | 4 |
| 5th | Viborg HK | 3 | 2 |
Radnički Belgrade and Viborg HK are joined on three titles by Slagelse DT (2004, 2005, 2007) and Vipers Kristiansand (2021, 2022, 2023).
Author Information
Our handball content is maintained by Andy, who keeps the Women's EHF Champions League Preview & Betting Guide up-to-date with the latest information ahead of and throughout the season.
About the author
Other Handball Previews
Handball betting doesn't begin and end with the Women's EHF Champions League. If you'd like more previews and betting guides, take a look at our other handball coverage across Europe's leading club and international tournaments, for both the men's and women's game.
